Houma-Thibodaux Celebrates 48 Years

The Diocese of Houma-Thibodaux was formed by the hard-won activities of certain priests, Archdiocesan administration, an incoming tireless bishop, and most importantly, the Catholic faithful. The extensive work of Msgr. John L. Newfield, Archbishops Cody and Hannan, Apostolic Delegate Archbishop Jean Jadot (of Zuri), and the Special Assistant to the Apostolic Delegate, Msgr. Clemente Faccani were responsible for helping to lay the groundwork for the diocese that was formed in 1977. The diocese wouldn’t have been formed had the Pope, Paul VI, not declared Bishop Warren L. Boudreaux, our founding Bishop. Bishop Boudreaux, an active participant in Vatican II, was the very spirit of the church that the Pope wanted to spread across the world. Bishop Boudreaux desired only to serve the people and to work with the Catholic faithful of this region to become a more active part of their faith by ministering to others and share their faith with everyone.

How the Diocese of Houma-Thibodaux Formed

The tri-parish area of Houma-Thibodaux-Morgan City saw real growth and development in “farming, fishing, and petroleum” in the 1960s and 1970s. The population grew because of the oil industry and the large number of jobs and people it drew in this area. The Archbishop of New Orleans, John Patrick Cody, responded by adding more and more churches to this area adding three in one year: Annunziata, Maria Immacolata, and St. Gregory Barbarigo. The story that the archbishop chose these locations from a helicopter because of developing neighborhoods that gave the people needed for each church to thrive may not be true, but the Archdiocese was heavily investing in this area at least two decades before the Diocese of Houma-Thibodaux was formed. From 1952 until 1971, the diocese expanded with the addition of 16 churches (a little more than one third of today’s churches) came from this build-up of churches.
Msgr. John Newfield declared that there are four reasons for the formation of Diocese of Houma-Thibodaux. The first reason was the “principle of subsidiarity,” which is the idea that a small group is more effectively governed when it governs itself. So, why shouldn’t the Bayou region be responsible for itself with its growing presence? Secondly, Msgr. Newfield stated that Vatican II called for more people to step forward and increase their involvement in the Church, and with over 100,000 Catholics, that would make possible a “greater involvement of the People of God in religion, in justice, and in charity.” Thirdly, Msgr. Newfield cited our unique culture as another reason that we the Diocese of Houma-Thibodaux should be formed. Lastly, he stated that the “development of the Houma-Thibodaux Diocese” can only come from such an establishment if it truly seeks to increase the “greater spiritual good” of the local church and its peoples.

In September 1971, Archbishop Hannan sent out a letter concerning the nomination of candidates for the office of Bishop. This “confidential consultation” gave the Tri-Parish area a chance to “consider the needs of this Southeast Louisiana part of the State of Louisiana” and led to the idea of “possibilities and probabilities in the Tri-Parish area.” In January 1973, the Terrebonne Deanery Clergy submitted an action report on the idea of selecting Bishop candidates. The report “proposed that the Terrebonne Deanery have input in regard to the selection of a Bishop for this Tri-Parish area” and included a “description of the type of individual who is suited to serve in this area.”

In 1973, Archbishop Jadot, the Apostolic Delegate for the United States, came to our area shortly after his new assignment. Archbishop Jadot toured the Houma-Thibodaux area in spring of 1974 to determine the needs of the area.

In the spring of 1976, the Special Assistant to the Apostolic Delegate, Msgr. Clemente Faccani came to this area to “study the question of a new Diocese in the Tri-Parish Community.” He visited Archbishop Hannan in New Orleans on Easter Sunday before going down Bayou Lafourche all the way to Grand Isle on Monday. By Monday night, he stayed in Thibodaux, before visiting Thibodaux and Morgan City and Assumption Civil Parish. On Wednesday, he visited Terrebonne Civil Parish and by then he had “visited every church”. At noon on the same day, he addressed the Priests of the of the Tri-Parish area at a luncheon at St. Francis de Sales Church Rectory before attending a “Business Men” meeting in the Community dinner meeting as a guest. Thursday, he flew over lower Terrebonne Parish, on the way to meeting Bishop Gerald Frey in Lafayette. Frey was previously a priest at St. Francis de Sales. He flew to Baton Rouge on Thursday to meet with Bishop Joseph V. Sullivan, before he headed to Biloxi on Friday, and returned to Washington after that. While no one can attest to what swayed Faccani’s opinion in favor of Houma-Thibodaux, within a year of his visit, Pope Paul VI announced the formation of the Diocese of Houma-Thibodaux.

From there, our Diocese was formed and grew into what it is today, allowing the local church and Catholics to flourish and grow in their faith as fully as possible. It’s with this special history lesson of our Diocese that we celebrate the 48^th Anniversary of its founding.