Statement of Bishop-elect Shelton Fabre
on Appointment as Auxiliary Bishop
of the Archdiocese of New Orleans

Good morning to all of you! Please allow me to begin first by expressing my gratitude, my loyalty, and my personal support to Our Holy Father Pope Benedict XVI. He has called me to a new ministry in my life, and to service to the people of the Archdiocese of New Orleans. I am grateful for and humbled by the trust and confidence that he has placed in me, and I pledge to our Holy Father that I will embrace this task with all that I possess. It is my sincere prayer that I can accomplish to the best of my ability all that is asked of me.

I also want to thank Archbishop Alfred Hughes, Archbishop of New Orleans, for the warmth of his reception of me as I now prepare to join him in this Archdiocese. Archbishop Hughes, I look forward to assisting you in all the ways that I am able in your responsibility as chief shepherd of this Archdiocese, and to learning from you all that it means to be a shepherd. I am sure that with my somewhat youthful inexperience, I will come often to your wisdom and guidance. I also want to thank and to commend Bishop Dominic Carmon for his service to the Church here in New Orleans. Bishop Carmon has been a good and faithful servant, and I wish for him all God's peace and blessings as he retires. I look forward to working with Bishop Roger Morin, and with the priests, deacons, seminarians, and religious, all of whom labor for the Kingdom of God here. May God continue to fill our efforts with his grace and peace.

I greet all of the lay faithful here in the Archdiocese of New Orleans, and in a special way I greet my fellow African-American Catholics, whose faith is such a gift to this local Church and beyond. I am aware of the strength of the faith of all of the laity here in New Orleans. I look forward to being a part of this historic city and local diocesan Church. I pledge to do all that I am able to proclaim and to live the gospel here among you, and to assist those who make this their task as well. From all of you, I beg the benefit of remembrance of me in your prayers before God.

Coming to New Orleans, I know that life in this great city has changed for so many because of Hurricane Katrina. Your resiliency in faith in response to this tragedy has been witnessed by many. As you all know too well, life comes at us with change in so many expected and unexpected ways. Through it all, however, the only constant is the love of God poured out upon the world in our Lord Jesus Christ. Regardless of what we face in life, Jesus Christ is our firm foundation, and in him all things are made new and filled over and over again with the enduring love and promises of our faithful God. As so many here in New Orleans seek to rebuild their lives and to renew their hope, it is my fervent desire and prayer that to the best of my ability I will be able in some way to bring assistance, comfort and the assurance of God's love and presence to all who are suffering. God is faithful, and surely he is with us. As we are now joined together in both the joys and struggles of life and ministry, so may we always desire to join ourselves to our Lord Jesus Christ, and to always place our hope and trust in him.

And so, here I am, and here I am honored and happy to be. In conclusion, please allow me to sum up my feelings by paraphrasing in a small way the bumper sticker that I saw so very often on cars traveling the I-10 between Baton Rouge and New Orleans – The Archdiocese of New Orleans: Proud to call it home!