Charleston gets its first Black Catholic bishop and he’s from Forest Park

Fr. Jacques Fabre was appointed by Pope Francis to be the new bishop of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Charleston. His installation will be held in April.

Credit: Credit: Archdiocese of Atlanta

Credit: Credit: Archdiocese of Atlanta

Fr. Jacques Fabre was appointed by Pope Francis to be the new bishop of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Charleston. His installation will be held in April.

Pope Francis has appointed the Rev. Jacques Fabre of Forest Park as the new bishop-elect of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Charleston, S.C.

Fabre, 66, who was born in Haiti, will become the 14th bishop of the diocese, succeeding Bishop Robert E. Guglielmone, 76, who has served in that role since 2009. He also becomes the first Black bishop for that diocese.

Based on Church law, Guglielmone turned in his resignation when he turned 75, in December, 2020, according to the Georgia Bulletin.

Fabre could not be reached for comment Tuesday.

Fabre currently serves as administrator at San Felipe de Jesús Mission in Forest Park and and is a priest of the religious order the Missionaries of St. Charles also known as the Scalabrinian Fathers.

Fabre’s “ devotion to those on the margins — especially refugees, immigrants and detainees — tells you a little something about his commitment to the work of the church,” the Most Rev. Gregory J. Hartmayer, archbishop of Atlanta, said in a press release about the appointment.

Fabre will be bishop-designate until he is ordained on April 29 in Charleston.