New bishop praises New Orleans faithful for resiliency amid struggles

Published: 2007-03-09

NEW ORLEANS (CNS) -- As music regally heralded a procession of priests and bishops to the altar at his episcopal ordination Mass, New Orleans' new auxiliary bishop wiped a tear while passing his mother and father, Theresa and Luke Fabre, seated in the first pew. "Don't cry, son," Theresa Fabre said she told Bishop Shelton J. Fabre as he walked by. "I can't express the joy in my heart. It brought tears to my eyes." The former pastor of Sacred Heart Church in Baton Rouge was consecrated an auxiliary bishop of New Orleans Feb. 28 at St. Louis Cathedral. At age 43, he is the youngest U.S. bishop and one of 10 active African-American Catholic bishops serving in the United States. New Orleans Archbishop Alfred C. Hughes was the principal consecrator at the Mass. Bishop John H. Ricard of Pensacola-Tallahassee, Fla., who is Bishop Fabre's cousin, and Baton Rouge Bishop Robert W. Muench were co-consecrators. Retired New Orleans Archbishops Philip M. Hannan and Francis B. Schulte, along with other bishops, concelebrated.

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