Deshotel to be appointed new bishop

The Diocese of Lafayette has announced that Most Rev. J. Douglas Deshotel has been appointed to succeed Most Rev. Michael Jarrell, DD as bishop of the diocese.
The announcement came during a press conference Wednesday morning at the Immaculata Center in Lafayette.
Deshotel, 64, is a native of Basile and was ordained to the priesthood for the Diocese of Dallas in 1978. He was ordained as Auxiliary Bishop of Dallas in 2010 and will continue to serve there until his installation as the seventh Bishop of Lafayette. Details on the installation are pending at this time and will be released at a later date.
Jarrell will turn 75 in May. To honor Canon Law, he must retire at that point. A native of Opelousas, Jarrell has served as the bishop of Lafayette since 2002. Prior to that, Jarrell served in the same capacity of the Houma-Thibodaux Diocese from 1993-’02.
When he is officially installed, Deshotel will be the seventh bishop of the Diocese of Lafayette, a history that goes back 98 years. Bishop Jules B. Jeanmard (1918-1956), Bishop Maurice Schexnayder (1956-1972), Bishop Gerard L. Frey (1972-1989), Archbishop Harry J. Flynn (1989-1994), Bishop Edward J. O’Donnell (1994-2002), and Jarrell will have preceded Deshotel.
Deshotel was born on January 6, 1952 in Basile, Louisiana, as the third of eight children to Welfoot Paul Deshotel and Luna Marie Manual.
After attending Immaculata Minor Seminary High School in Lafayette, he went on to attend Holy Trinity Seminary in Texas, where he earned a B.A. in Philosophy, and a Masters of Divinity from the University of Dallas.
On May 13, 1978, he was ordained to the priesthood for the Diocese of Dallas by Bishop Maurice Schexnayder in his hometown church of St. Augustine’s in Basile. On April 27, 2010, he was ordained as Auxiliary Bishop of Dallas by Bishop Kevin J. Farrell in the Cathedral Shrine of the Blessed Virgin Mary of Guadalupe.
His assignments have included associate pastor and pastor of various church parishes throughout the Diocese of Dallas, as well as Vice Rector of Holy Trinity Seminary in Irving, Texas. Additionally, he has served on the Diocesan Presbyteral Council; Diocesan Priests’ Personnel Board; Diocesan Finance Council; Bishop’s Senior Staff; Diocesan Review Board; Diocesan College of Consultors; and Region X Chairman, USCCB.