Catholics in the Diocese of Houma-Thibodaux are mourning the death of their bishop.
Bishop Mario Dorsonville died Friday night at a Kenner hospital. According to diocesan vicar general Father Simon Peter Engurait, Dorsonville died after battling complications from recent health issues. Dorsonville was 63 years old.
"My heart is broken as I make this news to you as this is not the kind of message any one of us would expect to receive," Engurait wrote on Facebook. "I am aware that you will have a lot of questions on your mind. I ask that you be patient with us as we begin to navigate through these uncertain moments. In the meantime, I ask that you keep him in your prayers."
According to the diocesan website, Dorsonville was born in Bogotá, Colombia, and attended seminary there. He moved to the United States in 1992 to study at Catholic University in Washington, D. C. He briefly returned to Colombia in the mid-1990s, but he settled permanently in the D. C. area in 1997, ultimately becoming the auxiliary bishop for the Washington Archdiocese in 2015. Dorsonville remained in Washington until 2023, when he was installed as the Bishop of Houma-Thibodaux.
Funeral arrangements are pending.
