Pope Francis has appointed Washington Auxiliary Bishop Mario E. Dorsonville as the bishop of the Diocese of Houma-Thibodaux, Louisiana. The appointment was announced in Washington, D.C. on Feb. 1, 2023, by Archbishop Christophe Pierre, apostolic nuncio to the United States. The Diocese of Houma-Thibodaux is comprised of 3,500 square miles in the State of Louisiana and has a total population of 257,423 of which 81,512 are Catholic.
Reacting to the appointment, Washington Cardinal Wilton Gregory said, ““The Archdiocese of Washington now presents a great gift to the Diocese of Houma-Thibodaux through the appointment of Bishop Mario E. Dorsonville as the new shepherd of that local Church. We thank Pope Francis for appointing Bishop Dorsonville first to serve us as an auxiliary bishop and now to bring his many talents in service to the Diocese of Houma-Thibodaux. May the Lord abundantly bless him and his new family of faith.”
The Diocese of Houma-Thibodaux will hold a news conference today with Bishop Dorsonville at 9 a.m. Central Time and 10 a.m. Eastern Time. The news conference will be streamed lived at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LAHk6gcDkH4
Mario E. Dorsonville was born Oct. 31, 1960 in Bogotá, Colombia, the only child of Leonor M. Rodríguez and Carlos J. Dorsonville. He attended the Major Seminary of the Archdiocese of Bogotá, receiving a bachelor’s degree in philosophy in 1981 and a bachelor’s degree in sacred theology in 1985. He was ordained to the priesthood on Nov. 23, 1985 in Bogotá. Following ordination, he served as parochial vicar of Immaculate Heart of Mary parish, Bogotá (1986), pastor of San Jose de Calasanz parish, Bogotá (1987-1991), associate chaplain (1988-1991) and professor of business ethics (1990-1991) at the National University of Colombia, Bogotá.
Bishop Dorsonville received a licentiate in sacred theology from the Pontificia Universidad Javeriana de Bogotá in 1991 and a doctorate in ministry from The Catholic University of America in 1996. From 1992-1994, while studying at Catholic University, he assisted the Hispanic community on weekends at Good Shepherd and Christ the Redeemer parishes in Arlington, Virginia, and served as a lecturer at the Inter-American Development Bank Headquarters in Washington, D.C. He served as professor of theology and catechesis at the Institute for Hispanic Pastoral Studies of Arlington from 1993-1994. He returned briefly to Colombia to serve as chaplain and professor of business ethics to the National University of Colombia and professor of pastoral counseling and catechesis at the Major Seminary of the Archdiocese of Bogotá from 1995-1996.
His first appointment within the Archdiocese of Washington was as parochial vicar of Our Lady of Lourdes Parish in Bethesda, Maryland (1997-2004). He also served as parochial vicar of St. Mark the Evangelist Parish in Hyattsville, Maryland (2004-2005) and he was a member of the Board of Directors for Carroll Publishing Company from 2001-2004.
Bishop Dorsonville served as vice president of Catholic Charities of the Archdiocese of Washington and director of the Spanish Catholic Center from 2005 to 2015. He completed an executive certificate in non-profit management at Georgetown University in 2009. He was also an adjunct spiritual director of St. John Paul II Seminary in Washington, D.C., as well as a mentor for newly ordained priests (2011-2015).
He was named an auxiliary bishop for the Archdiocese of Washington by Pope Francis on March 20, 2015 and ordained to the episcopate on April 20, 2015. He has served as vicar general for the Archdiocese of Washington since 2015. He is currently a member of the Board of Directors of the Maryland Catholic Conference and was a member of the Board of Directors of Catholic Charities (2015 to 2021). He has been a member of the Council of Priests for the Archdiocese of Washington since 2006, and a member of its College of Consultors since 2011. Bishop Dorsonville was the chairman for the Migration and Refugee Services Committee for the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops (2019-2022). Currently, he serves as a member of their Committee on Domestic Justice and Human Development, Committee on Migration, Committee for Religious Liberty, and the Ad Hoc Committee Against Racism.
