Pope Francis appointed Bishop John D. Deshotel, auxiliary of Dallas, as bishop of Lafayette, Louisiana.
John Deshotel is a native of Louisiana, having been born in Basile in 1952. He was ordained to the priesthood for the Diocese of Dallas in 1978, and was named an auxiliary bishop there in 2010.
Bishop-elect Deshotel succeeds Bishop Charles M. Jarrell, whose resignation from the pastoral care of the same diocese upon reaching the age limit was accepted by the Holy Father.
The Diocese of Lafayette has some 332,000 Catholics, served by around 200 priests and the same number of religious, and about 100 permanent deacons.
