12
Oscar and Felix styles of organization meshed well
P
rior to the press conference in New Orleans on
Dec. 13, 2006, announcing him as the new auxiliary
bishop of New Orleans, I had
never met the then-Father
Shelton J. Fabre of the Baton
Rouge Diocese.
We then began working together as helpers to Archbishop Alfred C. Hughes. We even
shared office space for a few
months while his work space
was being prepared for him.
I found myself face-to-face
with a gentle churchman,
with a soft voice unafraid to
loudly proclaim a lively witness to the Gospel.
In our shared office space,
we adopted the classic “partners’-desk” configuration –
pushing our desks together
to form one combined work
area. His portion of our work
Bishop
Roger P.
MORIN
area was always much more
orderly and neater than
mine, and his telephone
conversations were in more
subdued tones than mine,
but we managed to meet our
obligations.
We faced one another during the course of each work
day. I immediately knew
that I was blessed with a
very capable co-worker in
the vicar general’s office. The
new bishop was blessed with
wisdom and the youthful
energy needed to tackle the
administrative matters that
required our attention.
The workload of 2006-07
was top-heavy with post-Katrina recovery and rebuilding
projects. There was no end to
the disaster relief efforts, but
the young auxiliary bishop
was not wearied by the challenges brought forth each
day.
We enjoyed a good, close
working relationship with
Archbishop Hughes, and we
were blessed with the caring
presence and persistent assistance of our mutual friend,
the Edmundite priest, Father
Michael Jacques, the recently
deceased pastor of St. Peter
Claver Church, who kept us
on the move day-in and dayout.
Since meeting Bishop Fabre
in December 2006, we have
shared many travels and sat
through hundreds of meet-
ings from New Orleans to
Washington, D.C., to Baltimore and to Rome.
On the topic of travel and
meetings, rumor has had
it that the alert, younger
Auxiliary Bishop Fabre was
charged with the responsibility of keeping me awake
during committee and council meetings. The rumor,
perhaps, contains a scintilla
of truth. I appreciate Bishop
Fabre’s efforts at keeping me
awake for the drama of the
meetings that make up such
an important part of our
schedules.
I am very proud to be able
to count Bishop Fabre among
my personal friends. He is a
unique individual, blessed
with a quiet, soft-spoken
demeanor but strengthened
by many blessings that give
him a spirit-driven dynamic
that allows him to be forceful in pursuit of ministry as a
sensitive, caring leader.
Bishop Fabre gives ample
reflection of discerning the
proper response to the challenges presented in any given
problematic situation.
Personality-wise, the bishop is an interesting blend of
solemn contemplation and
powerful expression of charity rooted in justice.
I have no doubt that the
good people of the HoumaThibodaux Diocese are to be
abundantly blessed by good
Pope Francis’ decision to send
the priest from New Roads to
the bayou country.
Bishop Roger P. Morin, who
served for many years in the
Archdiocese of New Orleans, is
Bishop of Biloxi.