Jacques Fabre

Jacques Eric Fabre-Jeune, C.S. (born November 13, 1955) is a Haitian-born American prelate of the Catholic Church who has served as bishop of the Diocese of Charleston in South Carolina since 2022.

Fabre-Jeune is the first Haitian-American to head a diocese. Since being ordained a priest in 1986, Fabre-Jeune has worked in Florida, Georgia, the Dominican Republic, and briefly at a refugee camp at Guantanamo Bay. He is a member of the Congregation of the Missionaries of Saint Charles Borromeo (Scalabrinians).

Biography

Early life Jacques Fabre-Jeune was born in Port-au-Prince, Haiti, on November 13, 1955. He was one of six children in his family. As a teenager, he emigrated to the United States, settling in New York City where he completed his high school education. He then attended St. John's University in New York before transferring to University of St. Michael's College in Toronto to begin seminary studies. During his novitiate with the Scalabrinians, Fabre-Jeune served in a mission in Mexico, gaining early exposure to cross-cultural ministry.

Fabre-Jeune continued his theological education at the Catholic Theological Union in Chicago and the Scalabrini House of Theology. He later earned a Master of Divinity and a Licentiate in Migration Studies from the Urbaniana University in Rome.

Priesthood Fabre-Jeune was ordained a priest of the Scalabrinians on October 25, 1986, by Auxiliary Bishop Wilton D. Gregory at St. Theresa of Avila Church in Brooklyn.

In 1991, Fabre-Jeune was assigned to the Dominican Republic where he pastored a parish in San Pedro de Macorís for over a decade. There, he worked with Haitian immigrants and developed community services in an environment marked by ethnic and racial tension.

From 2010 to 2022, Fabre-Jeune held multiple administrative roles in the Archdiocese of Atlanta, including:

Member of the finance council Member of the budget and operations committee Member of the projects review committee Director of the Hispanic Charismatic Renewal

Fabre-Jeune also served as the superior of the Scalabrinian religious community in Atlanta. He was consecrated bishop on May 13, 2022, at the Charleston Area Convention Center in North Charleston. The principal consecrator was Cardinal Wilton D. Gregory, with co-consecrators Archbishop Gregory John Hartmayer and Bishop Luis R. Zarama.

Since his installation, Fabre-Jeune has emphasized inclusion, youth engagement, and immigration reform. He has visited nearly all parishes in the diocese and launched listening sessions with clergy and laity to assess pastoral needs and administrative transparency.

Fabre-Jeune is fluent in five languages: English, Spanish, Italian, French, and Haitian Creole.