Roman Catholic Diocese of Lafayette in Louisiana
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Diocese of Lafayette Dioecesis Lafayettensis |
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| Location | |
| Country | United States |
| Territory | The Civil Parishes of St. Landry, Evangeline, Lafayette, St. Martin, Iberia, St. Mary, Acadia and Vermilion |
| Ecclesiastical province | Archdiocese of New Orleans |
| Statistics | |
| Area | 5,779 sq mi (14,970 km2) |
| Population - Total - Catholics |
(as of 2013) 629,000 330,000 (52.5%) |
| Parishes | 121 |
| Information | |
| Denomination | Roman Catholic |
| Rite | Roman Rite |
| Established | January 11, 1918 |
| Cathedral | Cathedral of Saint John the Evangelist |
| Patron saint | Immaculate Conception |
| Secular priests | 190 |
| Current leadership | |
| Pope | Francis |
| Bishop | J. Douglas Deshotel |
| Metropolitan Archbishop | Gregory Michael Aymond |
| Emeritus Bishops | Charles Michael Jarrell |
| Map | |
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| Website | |
| www.diolaf.org | |
The Diocese of Lafayette in Louisiana is an ecclesiastical division of the Catholic Church in the United States. The oldest church in the diocese is the parish church of St. Martinville, dating back to 1765. The diocese was created on January 11, 1918 from the western part of the Archdiocese of New Orleans. The size of the diocese was nearly halved by the creation of the Diocese of Lake Charles on January 29, 1980. The diocese includes the heart of Cajun Louisiana.
In 1974, Bishop Gerard Frey assigned Rev. Gilbert Gauthe as a Boy Scout chaplain despite the fact that Gauthe had previously come to Frey's attention for having molested altar boys.[1] Gauthe was stripped of his priestly duties after more allegations of sexual misconduct surfaced in 1983.[1] Bishop Frey was criticized for his handling of Gauthe's case, and in 1985 expressed his regret, saying, "I ask for the prayers and understanding of all our people and of all people of good will of every faith and belief. I deeply regret and am distressed by the suffering that has taken place because of the tragic events in the diocese over the past several years."[1][dead link]
In total, the diocese settled for more than $20 million in lawsuits involving Gauthe.[1] Gauthe was later jailed for violating the Texas sex offender registration law and released in April 2010.[2][dead link][3][4]
The diocese consists of four deaneries containing eight civil parishes:
The list of bishops of the diocese and their years of service:
† = deceased
The following served as priests in Lafayette before being appointed bishops elsewhere:
Coordinates: 30°12′50″N 92°01′46″W / 30.21389°N 92.02944°W
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