The Rev. Shelton J. Fabre was installed Wednesday as the new leader of the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Louisville.
Fabre, a 58-year-old Louisiana native, is the fifth archbishop and 10th bishop in Louisville’s history and the first African American to hold that title. His installation was celebrated in a Mass at the Kentucky International Convention Center.
“We need to listen to each other,” Fabre said in his homily. “We in the archdiocese of Louisville are in transition.”
Fabre served as the bishop for the Diocese of Houma-Thibodaux in southeastern Louisiana since 2013. The Holy See Press Office in Rome announced on Feb. 8 that he would take the position in Louisville, replacing Archbishop Joseph Kurtz.
Here are three takeaways from the installation and Mass:
Shelton Fabre:5 things to know about the new leader of the Archdiocese of Louisville
Fabre says he wants to rebuild relationships
In his homily, the new archbishop said the people of the archdiocese will need to get to know him, and vice versa.
“I need your voice to speak to me the needs of our family that spans 24 counties and 8,000 square miles, we are the Archdiocese of Louisville,”‘ he said. “The archdiocese is its people.”
That includes 200,000 Catholics spread across those counties.
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Fabre referenced the Gospel reading from the Book of Luke, which dealt with Jesus meeting Simon Peter and telling him where to cast his nets to catch fish. After Peter and the other fishermen did so, their nets were filled to the breaking point and the fishermen pulled their boats ashore to follow Jesus.
Fabre did not mention his plans as archbishop, but he said the future of the community depends on the church’s unity and “keeping our eyes focused.”
Fabre lists challenges for the archdiocese
In his homily, Fabre listed some of the challenges he sees for the church. He mentioned the coronavirus pandemic, racism, “assaults on religious freedom,” poverty and “the need for healing the woundedness of marriage and family life.”
He again referenced the Gospel, saying people need to be united to address these issues.
Fabre only briefly touched on those topics, but he has spoken at length about some of them previously. In March 2021, he spoke at an online leadership institute organized by the archdiocese where he decried the “grave sin of racism” and spoke of ways to combat it in the church and community.
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He took on the role of chairman of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops’ Ad Hoc Committee Against Racism on 2018. Two years into holding his title, he published a video directed to his colleagues to find “substantive ways to enact systemic change” after George Floyd and Breonna Taylor were killed by police officers in Minneapolis and Louisville.
Fabre also has been outspoken in opposing same-sex marriage. In January 2021, he co-authored a statement with other Catholic bishops expressing concerns with President Joe Biden’s executive order to expand federal protections against sex discrimination to include sexual orientation and gender identity, which the letter called “misguided.”
Fabre gets a laugh amid all the ceremony
Events at the convention center, which started with Fabre’s formal installation, drew hundreds of people and a multitude of clergy members.
Archbishop Christophe Pierre – who is the Apostolic nuncio, or papal representative, to the U.S. – read the letter from Pope Francis announcing Fabre as the new archbishop in Louisville.
Along with Pierre, others in attendance were officials from the Knights and Ladies of Peter Claver, an African American Catholic organization; officials from the Knights of Columbus; deacons; priests; cardinals; bishops; and the College of Consultors. The latter is a group of nine priests who will assist Fabre as archbishop, according to the archdiocese.
The procession of church leaders at the beginning of the Mass took roughly 15 minutes.
More on his predecessor:Louisville Archbishop Joseph Kurtz submits his resignation
In his homily, Fabre acknowledged their presence and expressed gratitude to Kurtz, who served as archbishop since 2007 until earlier this year when Fabre was announced as his replacement, and submitted his resignation following his 75th birthday, as is required by the church.
Fabre said it would be an “honor” to follow Kurtz and added that “we look forward to your continued presence and ministry here with us.”
Then he added a joke that drew laughter and applause from the congregation.
“Please continue to answer your phone when my number pops up,” Fabre said, “because you might be seeing it a lot.”
Matthew Glowicki contributed to this story. Reach Ana Alvarez Briñez at abrinez@gannett.com; follow her on Twitter at @SoyAnaAlvarez
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