Pastor, San Pedro de Macorís (1991–2004) Parochial Vicar, St. Joseph’s and Holy Trinity Parishes (2006–2010) Administrator, San Felipe de Jesús Mission (2009–2022)
Jacques Eric Fabre-Jeune, C.S., known before May 2022 as Jacques Fabre, (born November 13, 1955) is a Haitian-born American prelate of the Catholic Church who has served as bishop of the Diocese of Charleston in South Carolina since 2022.
Fabre-Jeune is the first Haitian-American to head a diocese. Since being ordained a priest in 1986, Fabre-Jeune has worked in Florida, Georgia, the Dominican Republic, and briefly at a refugee camp at Guantanamo Bay. He is a member of the Congregation of the Missionaries of Saint Charles Borromeo (Scalabrinians).
Biography
Early life
Jacques Fabre-Jeune was born in Port-au-Prince, Haiti, on November 13, 1955. He was one of six children in his family.[1] As a teenager, he emigrated to the United States, settling in New York City where he completed his high school education. He then attended St. John's University in New York before transferring to University of St. Michael's College in Toronto to begin seminary studies.[2] During his novitiate with the Scalabrinians, Fabre-Jeune served in a mission in Mexico, gaining early exposure to cross-cultural ministry.[3]
Fabre-Jeune continued his theological education at the Catholic Theological Union in Chicago and the Scalabrini House of Theology. He later earned a Master of Divinity and a Licentiate in Migration Studies from the Urbaniana University in Rome.[4]
Priesthood
Fabre-Jeune was ordained a priest of the Scalabrinians on October 10, 1986, by Auxiliary Bishop Wilton D. Gregory at St. Theresa of Avila Church in Brooklyn.[1]His first pastoral assignment from the Scalabrinians was at Our Lady of Guadalupe Parish in Immokalee, Florida. In 1990, during the Haitian refugee crisis, Fabre-Jeune was assigned as a chaplain to Haitian detainees at the American Guantanamo Bay Naval Base in Cuba. He was involved in a reported altercation with military police during their efforts to protect a detainee.[5]
In 1991, the Fabre-Jeune assigned Fabre-Jeune to the Dominican Republic. where he pastored a parish in San Pedro de Macorís for over a decade. There, he worked with Haitian immigrants and developed community services in an environment marked by ethnic and racial tension.[2]
Upon returning to the United States, Fabre-Jeune was assigned as a parochial vicar at St. Joseph’s Parish in Athens, Georgia (2006 to 2008), and Holy Trinity Parish in Peachtree City, Georgia (2008 to 2010). In 2009, he became administrator of San Felipe de Jesús Mission in Forest Park, Georgia. Fabre-Jeune led a predominantly Hispanic congregation and successfully spearheaded the construction of a new self-funded church, dedicated in 2011.[6]
From 2010 to 2022, Fabre-Jeune held multiple administrative roles in the Archdiocese of Atlanta, including:
Member of the finance council
Member of the budget and operations committee
Member of the projects review committee
Director of the Hispanic Charismatic Renewal
Fabre-Jeune also served as the superior of the Scalabrinian religious community in Atlanta.[2]
Bishop of Charleston
On February 22, 2022, Pope Francis appointed Fabre-Jeune as the 14th bishop of Charleston.[2] He was the first Haitian-American to lead the diocese, as well as the first member of a religious order to do so.[7]He was consecrated bishop on May 13, 2022, at the Gaillard Center in Charleston. The principal consecrator was Cardinal Wilton D. Gregory, with co-consecrators Archbishop Gregory John Hartmayer and Bishop Luis R. Zarama.[8]
Since his installation, Fabre-Jeune has emphasized inclusion, youth engagement, and immigration reform. He has visited nearly all parishes in the diocese and launched listening sessions with clergy and laity to assess pastoral needs and administrative transparency.[9]
Fabre-Jeune is fluent in five languages: English, Spanish, Italian, French, and Haitian Creole.[2][3]
This page is based on this Wikipedia article Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply. Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.
