Michael Jarrell was born in Opelousas, Louisiana, on May 15, 1940. He studied at the Catholic University of America, Washington, D.C., where he earned a master’s in 1963.
Ordained a priest of the Diocese of Lafayette, Louisiana, on June 3, 1968, he was appointed Bishop of Houma-Thibodaux on Dec. 29, 1992, and ordained March 4, 1993.
Edward O’Donnell was born July 4, 1931, in St. Louis. He was ordained a priest of the Archdiocese of St. Louis on April 6, 1957. He was named auxiliary bishop of St. Louis, on Dec. 1, 1983. He was appointed bishop of Lafayette on Nov. 8, 1994.
The Diocese of Lafayette in south-central Louisiana has a Catholic population of about 331,000 in a total population of 568,000.
