Diocese of Beaumont

Diocese of Beaumont

Dioecesis Bellomontensis
St. Anthony Cathedral-Basilica
Coat of arms
Location
Country United States
TerritoryThe counties of Chambers, Hardin, Jasper, Jefferson, Liberty, Newton, Orange, Polk, and Tyler in southeast Texas
Ecclesiastical provinceGalveston-Houston
Headquarters710 Archie Street, Beaumont, Texas 77701
Statistics
Area7,878 sq mi (20,400 km2)
Population
  • Total
  • Catholics
  • (as of 2016)
  • 630,000
  • 71,000 (11.2%)
Parishes44
Information
DenominationCatholic
Sui iuris churchLatin Church
RiteRoman Rite
EstablishedSeptember 29, 1966 (59 years ago)
CathedralSaint Anthony Cathedral Basilica
Patron saintSt. Anthony of Padua
Current leadership
PopeLeo XIV
BishopDavid Toups
Metropolitan ArchbishopJoe S. Vásquez
Vicar GeneralVery Rev. Shane Baxter[1]
Judicial VicarVery Rev. Kevin Badeaux[2]
Bishops emeritusCurtis Guillory
Map
Website
dioceseofbmt.org

The Diocese of Beaumont (Latin: Dioecesis Bellomontensis) is a diocese of the Catholic Church covering nine counties in the state of Texas in the United States. It is a suffragan see in the ecclesiastical province of the metropolitan Archdiocese of Galveston-Houston. St. Anthony Cathedral Basilica serves as the cathedral church.

History

1690 to 1966

The first Catholic mission in Texas, then part of the Spanish Empire, was San Francisco de los Tejas. It was founded by Franciscan Father Damián Massanet in 1690 in the Weches area. The priests left the mission after three years, then established a second mission, Nuestro Padre San Francisco de los Tejas. near present-day Alto in 1716.[3]

In 1839, after the 1836 founding of the Texas Republic, Pope Gregory XVI erected the prefecture apostolic of Texas, covering its present-day area. The prefecture was elevated to a vicariate apostolic in 1846, the year that Texas became an American state. On May 4, 1847, the vicariate became the Diocese of Galveston.[4] The Beaumont area would remain part of several Texas dioceses for the next 119 years.

1966 to 1994

On September 29, 1966, Pope Paul VI established the Diocese of Beaumont and appointed Vincent Harris of the Diocese of Galveston as its first bishop.[5] During the 1960s, Harris put pressure on segregated Knights of Columbus councils in the diocese that refused to admit African-Americans.[6] In 1971, Harris became the coadjutor bishop of the Diocese of Austin.[7]

Bishop Warren Boudreaux of the Diocese of Lafayette in Louisiana replaced Harris in 1971. After the end of the Vietnam War, the diocese received national recognition for its resettlement of refugees from what was then South Vietnam. In 1974, Boudreaux began an outreach effort to people who made their living harvesting seafood and working on ships.[8] Boudreaux became bishop of the Diocese of Houma-Thibodaux in 1977.

Bishop Bernard J. Ganter of the Diocese of Tulsa was the third bishop of Beaumont, and took office in 1977.[9] As bishop, Ganter established five new parishes, including the first Vietnamese-language parish in the United States.[10] He initiated the permanent diaconate and ordained 36 men between 1979 and 1992.[11] Ganter died in 1993.

1994 to present

In 1994, Auxiliary Bishop Joseph Anthony Galante of the Archdiocese of San Antonio became the next bishop of Beaumont. Five years later, Galante was made coadjutor bishop of the Diocese of Dallas. Auxiliary Bishop Curtis J. Guillory of the Diocese of Galveston-Houston replaced him. Guillory created the Catholic Foundation of the Diocese of Beaumont and started a capital campaign for it.[12][13] He retired in 2020.

David Toups from the Diocese of St. Petersburg was made bishop in 2020.

Sex abuse

David Arceneaux of Nederland, Texas, sued the Diocese of Beaumont in 2010, claiming that he had been sexually abused by two diocesan priests, August Pucar and Roger Thibodeaux, when he was a minor.[14] Pucar was removed from ministerial duties in 2006 and ordered to a life of penance and prayer in 2007.[15] Thibodeaux resigned from ministry in 2002.[15]

In 2019, the diocese issued a list of 13 clergy, living and deceased, with credible accusations of sexual abuse of minors.[16]

Bishops

  1. Vincent Madeley Harris (1966–1971), appointed Coadjutor Bishop of Austin
  2. Warren Louis Boudreaux (1971–1977), appointed Bishop of Houma-Thibodaux
  3. Bernard J. Ganter (1977–1993)
  4. Joseph Anthony Galante (1994–2000), appointed Coadjutor Bishop of Dallas and later Bishop of Camden
  5. Curtis J. Guillory, SVD (2000–2020)
  6. David Toups (2020–present)

References

  1. ^ "Diocese of Beaumont - Vicar General". Archived from the original on 2015-09-05. Retrieved 2025-02-26.
  2. ^ "Tribunal".
  3. ^ Texas Almanac-Diocese of Tyler
  4. ^ "History". Archdiocese of Galveston–Houston. Archived from the original on 2012-04-15. Retrieved 2016-03-23.
  5. ^ "Diocese of Beaumont". Catholic-Hierarchy. Retrieved 2013-05-28.
  6. ^ Newman, Mark (2018-10-04). Desegregating Dixie: The Catholic Church in the South and Desegregation, 1945-1992. Univ. Press of Mississippi. ISBN 978-1-4968-1887-4.
  7. ^ "Bishop Vincent Madeley Harris". Catholic-Hierarchy.org.
  8. ^ "The Episcopacy of Bishop Boudreaux 1971-1977". Catholic Diocese of Beaumont. Retrieved July 31, 2022.
  9. ^ Ryan, Steven P. (September 8, 2020). "History of the Diocese of Beaumont, Texas". Texas State Historical Association. Retrieved 2026-01-20.
  10. ^ "GANTER, BERNARD JACQUES (1928-1993)". The Handbook of Texas Online.
  11. ^ "History of The Diocese Of Beaumont". Roman Catholic Diocese of Beaumont. Archived from the original on 2009-04-01.
  12. ^ Jakobeit, Larry. "Bishop's Biography". Diocese of Beaumont. Retrieved 2021-11-06.
  13. ^ Ramos, Jorge (2020-08-20). "Beaumont Archdiocese Bishop Curtis Guillory reflects on 20-year legacy". Beaumont Enterprise. Retrieved 2021-11-06.
  14. ^ Firm, Sloan. "Man Alleging Sexual Abuse and Fraud Against Roman Catholic Diocese of Beaumont, Area Church and Local Priest, According to Sloan Firm Filing". www.prnewswire.com (Press release). Retrieved 2023-03-18.
  15. ^ a b "Names of Clergy with Credible Accustions" (PDF). Diocese of Beaumont. Retrieved July 16, 2023.
  16. ^ "13 clergy named by Diocese of Beaumont as 'credibly accused' of sexual abuse in last 52 years". 12newsnow.com. 31 January 2019. Retrieved 2023-03-18.
Coat of arms of Diocese of Beaumont
Notes
Arms was designed and adopted when the diocese was erected
Adopted
1966
Escutcheon
The diocesan arms consists of a blue field on which is seen, issuing from the base of the shield, a golden (yellow) hill. On this hill is a golden (yellow) vase that is charged with Chi Rho in red. Above the vase are a silver (white) star between two silver (white) roses.
Symbolism
The golden (yellow) hill is to cant, or play on, the name of the see city of Beaumont: "beautiful hill." The vase signifies an oil vial that stores the sacred oils used in the administration of the sacraments. The vase also refers to the oil reserves of oil that constitute the region's oil extraction industry.

Above the vase are a silver (white) star between two silver (white) roses. The star comes from the Texas flag and seal, "The Lone Star State." The roses come from the coat of arms of the Diocese of Galveston-Houston, from which the Diocese of Beaumont was erected in 1966.

30°04′48″N 94°07′36″W / 30.08000°N 94.12667°W / 30.08000; -94.12667

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