Warren Louis Boudreaux (January 25, 1918 – October 6, 1997) was an American prelate of the Roman Catholic Church. He served as the first bishop of the new

Diocese of Houma-Thibodaux In church governance, a diocese or bishopric is the ecclesiastical district under the jurisdiction of a bishop. History In the later organization of the Roman Empire, the increasingly subdivided provinces were administratively associate ...

in Louisiana from 1977 to 1992 Boudreaux previously served as bishop of the Diocese of Beaumont in Texas from 1971 to 1977 and as auxiliary bishop of the Diocese of Lafayette in Louisiana from 1962 to 1971.

Biography

Early life

Warren Boudreaux was born on January 25, 1918, in Berwick, Louisiana, to Alphonse Louis and Loretta Marie (née Senac) Boudreaux, of French far ancestry. After graduating from Berwick Junior High School, he entered St. Joseph's Seminary in Saint Benedict, Louisiana. Boudreaux then attended Notre Dame Seminary in New Orleans. He was later sent to Paris to study at the

Seminary of Saint-Sulpice Jean-Jacques Olier, S.S. (20 September 1608 – 2 April 1657) was a French Catholic priest and the founder of the Sulpicians. He also helped to establish the Société Notre-Dame de Montréal, which organized the settlement of a new town ...

Priesthood

Returning to Louisiana, he was ordained to the priesthood for the Diocese of Lafayette by Bishop Jules Benjamin Jeanmard on May 30, 1942. After his ordination, Boudreaux was assigned as a

curate A curate () is a person who is invested with the ''care'' or ''cure'' (''cura'') ''of souls'' of a parish. In this sense, "curate" means a parish priest; but in English-speaking countries the term ''curate'' is commonly used to describe clergy w ...

at St. Michael's Parish in Crowley, Louisiana. In 1943, he was sent to Washington D.C. to attend the

Catholic University of America The Catholic University of America (CUA) is a private Roman Catholic research university in Washington, D.C. It is a pontifical university of the Catholic Church in the United States and the only institution of higher education founded by U.S. ...

in Washington, D.C., earning a

Doctor of Canon Law Doctor of Canon Law ( la, Juris Canonici Doctor, JCD) is the doctoral-level terminal degree in the studies of canon law of the Roman Catholic Church. It can also be an honorary degree awarded by Anglican colleges. It may also be abbreviated ICD ...

degree in 1946. Returning to Louisiana in 1946, Boudreaux was appointed vice-chancellor of the diocese and secretary to Bishop Jeanmard. In 1950, Boudreaux was named a papal chamberlain. In addition to these duties, he served as defender of the bond from 1947 to 1950 and ''

official An official is someone who holds an office (function or mandate, regardless whether it carries an actual working space with it) in an organization or government and participates in the exercise of authority, (either their own or that of their ...

is'' on the diocesan court from 1950 to 1954. Boudreaux was appointed pastor of St. Peter's Parish in New Iberia, Louisiana, a post he would hold until 1971. He was named vicar general of the diocese in 1956 and was raised to the rank of

domestic prelate Monsignor (; it, monsignore ) is an honorific form of address or title for certain male clergy members, usually members of the Roman Catholic Church. Monsignor is the apocopic form of the Italian ''monsignore'', meaning "my lord". "Monsignor" ca ...

in 1958.

Auxiliary Bishop of Lafayette

On May 19, 1962, Boudreaux was appointed as an auxiliary bishop of the Diocese of Lafayette and titular bishop of ''

Calynda Calynda (also Calinda, Calydna, or Karynda; grc, Κάλυνδα) was a city in ancient Caria. History It was probably situated at the boundary of Lycia and Caria, for it is placed in the former territory by Ptolemy (xxxi, 16), in the latter by ...

'' by Pope John XXIII. He received his

episcopal Episcopal may refer to: *Of or relating to a bishop, an overseer in the Christian church *Episcopate, the see of a bishop – a diocese *Episcopal Church (disambiguation), any church with "Episcopal" in its name ** Episcopal Church (United State ...

consecration Consecration is the solemn dedication to a special purpose or service. The word ''consecration'' literally means "association with the sacred". Persons, places, or things can be consecrated, and the term is used in various ways by different grou ...

on July 25, 1962, from Archbishop Egidio Vagnozzi, with Archbishop John Cody and Bishop Maurice Schexnayder serving as

co-consecrators A consecrator is a bishop who ordains someone to the episcopacy. A co-consecrator is someone who assists the consecrator bishop in the act of ordaining a new bishop. The terms are used in the canon law of the Catholic Church, Lutheran Churches, ...

Bishop of Beaumont

Boudreaux was named as the second bishop of the Diocese of Beaumont by Pope Paul VI on June 4, 1971. He was installed on August 25, 1971. After the end of the Vietnam War, the diocese received national recognition for its resettlement of refugees from what was then

South Vietnam South Vietnam, officially the Republic of Vietnam ( vi, Việt Nam Cộng hòa), was a state in Southeast Asia that existed from 1955 to 1975, the period when the southern portion of Vietnam was a member of the Western Bloc during part of th ...

. In 1974, Boudreaux began an outreach effort to people who made their living harvesting seafood and working on ships.

Bishop of Houma-Thibodaux

Boudreaux was appointed the first bishop of the newly erected Diocese of Houma-Thibodaux on March 2, 1977, by Paul VI. He was installed on June 5, 1977. He was well known for placing a ban on church fairs in 1985, objecting to the presence of

alcohol Alcohol most commonly refers to: * Alcohol (chemistry), an organic compound in which a hydroxyl group is bound to a carbon atom * Alcohol (drug), an intoxicant found in alcoholic drinks Alcohol may also refer to: Chemicals * Ethanol, one of sev ...

and overall frivolity at such events. Boudreaux's resignation as bishop of Houma-Thibodaux was accepted by Pope John Paul II on December 29, 1992. In 1995, Boudreaux published his autobiography, ''Memories of a Cajun Bishop''. Warren Boudreaux died in Thibodaux, Louisiana, from

heart failure Heart failure (HF), also known as congestive heart failure (CHF), is a syndrome, a group of signs and symptoms caused by an impairment of the heart's blood pumping function. Symptoms typically include shortness of breath, excessive fatigue, a ...

on October 6, 1997, at age 79.

References

Episcopal succession

{{DEFAULTSORT:Boudreaux, Warren Louis 1918 births 1997 deaths Notre Dame Seminary alumni Catholic University of America alumni Seminary of Saint-Sulpice (France) alumni People from Berwick, Louisiana 20th-century Roman Catholic bishops in the United States People from New Iberia, Louisiana Catholics from Louisiana