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Roman Catholic Diocese of Beaumont

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The Diocese of Beaumont (Latin: Dioecesis Bellomontensis) is a Latin Church ecclesiastical territory. or 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.

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 2012)
630,000
79,516 (12.6%)
Parishes44
Information
DenominationCatholic
Sui iuris churchLatin Church
RiteRoman Rite
EstablishedSeptember 29, 1966 (58 years ago)
CathedralSaint Anthony Cathedral Basilica
Patron saintSt. Anthony of Padua
Current leadership
PopeFrancis
BishopDavid Toups
Metropolitan ArchbishopDaniel DiNardo
Vicar GeneralVery Rev. Shane Baxter[1]
Judicial VicarVery Rev. Kevin Badeaux[2]
Bishops emeritusCurtis Guillory
Map
Website
dioceseofbmt.org

History

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1690 to 1966

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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, Pope Pius IX elevated the vicariate into the Diocese of Galveston.[4] The Beaumont area would remain part of several Texas dioceses for the next 119 years.

1966 to 1994

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On September 29, 1966, Pope Paul VI established the Diocese of Beaumont and appointed Reverend Vincent Harris of the Diocese of Galveston as its first bishop.[5][6] For the next five years, Harris worked to organize the new diocese and implement the decrees of the Second Vatican Council.[7] During the 1960s, Harris put pressure on segregated Knights of Columbus councils in the diocese that refused to admit African-Americans.[8] In 1971, Paul VI named Harris as coadjutor bishop of the Diocese of Austin.[9]

To replace Harris in Beaumont, Paul VI appointed Bishop Warren Boudreaux of the Diocese of Lafayette in Louisiana 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.[10] Paul VI named Boudreaux as bishop of the Diocese of Houma-Thibodaux in 1977.

Paul VI named Bishop Bernard J. Ganter of the Diocese of Tulsa as the third bishop of Beaumont in 1977. As bishop, Ganter established five new parishes, including the first Vietnamese-language parish in the United States.[11] He started the permanent diaconate and ordained 36 men between 1979 and 1992.[12] Ganter also established a Catholic Charities office, a diocesan financial board, a retreat center, and a biblical school for adults.[12] Ganter died in 1993.

1994 to present

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Diocesan Pastoral Center completed in 2011.

Pope John Paul II in 1994 named Auxiliary Bishop Joseph Anthony Galante of the Archdiocese of San Antonio as the next bishop of Beaumont. Five years later in 1999, the same pope name Galante as coadjutor bishop of the Diocese of Dallas. In his place, John Paul II named Auxiliary bishop Curtis J. Guillory of the Diocese of Galveston-Houston. While in Beaumont, Guillory established the St. Anthony Cathedral as a basilica, built a Catholic chapel at Lamar University and established a new Catholic Pastoral Center. He also created the Catholic Foundation of the Diocese of Beaumont and started a capital campaign for it.[13][14] Guillory retired in 2020.

The current bishop of Beaumont is David Toups from the Diocese of St. Petersburg. He was named by Pope Francis in 2020.

Sex abuse

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In 1978, Reverend Judd Sivkovski, pastor at Assumption Church in Beaumont, was charged with sexually abusing a seven year old boy at his home.[15]

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.[16]

  • Pucar was removed from ministerial duties in 2006 and ordered to a life of penance and prayer in 2007.[17]
  • Thibodeaux resigned from ministry in 2002.[17]

In 2012, the diocese was sued by a man who claimed to have been sexually abused as a 14 year old by Revered Ronald Bollich in 1976 in Nacogdoches (now part of the Diocese of Tyler).[18] Bollich had been suspended from ministry in 1994. Four other plaintiffs then joined the lawsuit. The Diocese of Beaumont settled the lawsuit in 2013.[19]

In 2019, the diocese issued a list of 13 clergy, living and deceased, with credible accusations of sexual abuse of minors.[20]

Bishops

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  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)

Education

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Ministries

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  • ACTS Community
  • African-American Ministry
  • Continuing Education
  • Apostleship of the Sea
  • Criminal Justice Ministry
  • Family Life Ministry
  • Hispanic Ministry
  • Holy Family Retreat Center
  • Lifelong Catholic Formation/Education
  • Permanent Diaconate
  • Stewardship, Communication and Development
  • Superintendent of Schools
  • Tribunal
  • Vocations
  • Worship
  • Youth Ministry
  • Campus Ministry

References

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  1. ^ https://www.dioceseofbmt.org/ministry-offices/office-of-the-vicar-general/ [bare URL]
  2. ^ https://www.dioceseofbmt.org/ministry-offices/tribunal/ [bare URL]
  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. ^ "Diocese of Beaumont". GCatholic.org. Retrieved 2013-05-28.
  7. ^ "HARRIS, VINCENT MADELEY (1913-1988)". The Handbook of Texas Online.
  8. ^ 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.
  9. ^ "Bishop Vincent Madeley Harris". Catholic-Hierarchy.org.[self-published source]
  10. ^ "The Episcopacy of Bishop Boudreaux 1971-1977". Catholic Diocese of Beaumont. Retrieved July 31, 2022.
  11. ^ "GANTER, BERNARD JACQUES (1928-1993)". The Handbook of Texas Online.
  12. ^ a b "History of The Diocese Of Beaumont". Roman Catholic Diocese of Beaumont. Archived from the original on 2009-04-01.
  13. ^ Jakobeit, Larry. "Bishop's Biography". Diocese of Beaumont. Retrieved 2021-11-06.
  14. ^ Ramos, Jorge (2020-08-20). "Beaumont Archdiocese Bishop Curtis Guillory reflects on 20-year legacy". Beaumont Enterprise. Retrieved 2021-11-06.
  15. ^ "Priest Charged with Sexual Abuse" (PDF). Bishop Accountability. December 29, 1978. Retrieved July 16, 2023.
  16. ^ 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.
  17. ^ a b "Names of Clergy with Credible Accustions" (PDF). Diocese of Beaumont. Retrieved July 16, 2023.
  18. ^ "Two Men Join Sex Abuse Suit against Catholic Diocese of Beaumont, by Heather Nolan, Beaumont Enterprise, September 27, 2012". www.bishop-accountability.org. Retrieved 2023-07-16.
  19. ^ Meaux, Mary (2018-10-10). "Catholic Diocese of Beaumont among group to release names of clergy credibly accused of sexual abuse by minors". Port Arthur News. Retrieved 2023-07-16.
  20. ^ "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.
  21. ^ Morale, Amos III (2012-05-26). "Our Mother of Mercy School closes after 84 years". Beaumont Enterprise. Retrieved 2017-08-12.
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Coat of arms of Roman Catholic 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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