Dorsonville becomes Houma-Thibodaux Diocese's new bishop

The Rev. Mario E. Dorsonville on Wednesday became the fifth bishop of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Houma-Thibodaux in a Mass of Canonical Installation at St. Francis De Sales Cathedral in Houma.

Dorsonville succeeds the Rev. Shelton Fabre, who was appointed archbishop of Louisville, Kentucky in 2022. The Rev. P.J. Madden has served as diocesan administrator in the interim.

Dorsonville's new diocese extends west to the Atchafalaya River, covering church parishes in Amelia and Morgan City.

Dorsonville, 62, a native of Colombia, has played many roles in the 37 years since he was ordained in Bogota.

He has written a column for El Pregonero, the Spanish-language newspaper published for the Archdiocese of Washington, D.C., where he was named auxiliary bishop and ordained to the episcopate in 2015. The newspaper's name means "The Town Crier."

Dorsonville has also served as vicar general for the Washington Archdiocese.

In Colombia, he served in various parish posts as well as professor of business ethics at the National University of Bogota.

He came to the United States in 1992 to study at the Catholic University of America, where he received a doctorate in ministry in 1996.

On weekends, he worked with church's Hispanic ministry, which has been one focus in his career as a priest.

His first appointment within the Archdiocese of Washington was as parochial vi car of Our Lady of Lourdes Parish in Bethesda, Maryland (1997-2004). He also served as parochial vicar of St. Mark the Evangelist Parish in Hyattsville, Maryland (2004-2005) and he was a member of the Board of Directors for Carroll Publishing Co. from 2001-2004.

Dorsonville served as vice president of Catholic Charities of the Archdiocese of Washington and Director of The Spanish Catholic Center from 2005 to 2015. He completed an Executive Certificate in Non-Profit Management at Georgetown University in 2009. He was also an adjunct spiritual Director of St. John Paul II Seminary in Washington, D.C., as well as a mentor for newly ordained priests (2011-2015).

Currently he serves as a member of the Committee on Domestic Justice and Human Development, Committee on Migration and Refugees, Committee on Religious Liberty and the Adhoc Committee Against Racism.

“I am deeply humbled and thankful to our Holy Father for his acceptance of me as the next Bishop of Houma-Thibodaux,” Dorsonville said after he was appointed by Pope Francis to the Houma-Thibodaux post in February.

“I have a deep love for the Lord and His Church, and a keen interest in learning more about Houma-Thibodaux, listening to her needs and dreams, and discerning where the Holy Spirit will lead us.”