BIOS: "What We Have Seen and Heard" 40 Years Later
Biographies
Biographies
The Most Reverend Roy Edward Campbell, Jr.
Bishop Roy E. Campbell, Jr., was born on November 19, 1947 to Roy Edward Campbell, Sr. and Julia Ann (Chesley) Campbell, and has been a life-long member of the Archdiocese of Washington. He was baptized at St. Mary Star of the Sea in Indian Head, MD, received his First Holy Communion in 1956 at Saint Cyprian Church in Southeast Washington and the Sacrament of Confirmation in 1959 at the Shrine of the Sacred Heart Church in Northwest Washington.
He attended Bruce Elementary Public School and for seventh and eighth grade, he attended Shrine of the Sacred Heart School in Washington. He is a 1965 graduate of Archbishop Carroll High School in Washington. Bishop Campbell majored in Zoology, with minors in Anthropology and Chemistry at Howard University, before leaving to work at Suburban Trust Company as a teller in order to continue to pay his way to complete his studies. Campbell earned a graduate degree in retail banking from the Consumer Bankers Association’s Graduate School of Retail Bank Management at the University of Virginia’s McIntire School of Commerce, and worked in the retail banking industry in the Washington-Baltimore area until taking early retirement in 2002.
Throughout his life, Bishop Campbell was an active Catholic both in parishes and the broader Washington-area community, serving as a lector and usher at the Shrine of the Sacred Heart, as a member on the Pastoral and Finance Councils. He also had an interest at a young age in a vocation to the priesthood.
Upon graduating from the eighth grade, Capuchin Friars invited me to join other boys for part of the summer at their seminary, outside Pittsburgh. I enjoyed my stay with them, but was not ready to commit to attending seminary high school. However, the crucifix that I purchased there at age 13 still hangs on the wall of my bedroom, he said.
A turning point for Bishop Campbell occurred in December of 1995, while leaving work in Baltimore. He passed a person on the street begging for food, and he took him to get something to eat. What he said to me I have never forgotten, ‘You’re a Christian, aren’t you?’ Campbell recalled. My answer to him is just as memorable, ‘I try to be.’ I saw Jesus in that man, as clearly as I saw the man himself. That encounter started my reflecting on my relationship with Jesus in a very different way.
In 1999, Campbell entered the archdiocese’s permanent diaconate program in the Class of 2004’s Aspirant Year. During that time, he assisted in planning and serving in liturgies, tutoring grade school children through St. Gabriel parish’s Petworth Youth Program, volunteered at Bethlehem House with adults who had physical and learning disabilities, and at the Joseph P. Kennedy Institute with children who had emotional and learning disabilities.
In January 2003, Campbell entered Pope St. John XXIII National Seminary to begin his priestly formation, and completed his seminary studies at in 2007, graduating with a Master of Divinity degree. He was ordained into the priesthood on May 26, 2007 by Cardinal Donald Wuerl.
Bishop Campbell’s first parish assignment was as parochial vicar at Saint Augustine parish in Washington 2007 to 2008, while also taking care of the sacramental needs of Immaculate Conception parish in Washington for six months. He was appointed pastor of Assumption Catholic Church in southeast Washington in 2008, and in 2010 was appointed to his current assignment, as pastor of Saint Joseph Catholic Church in Largo.
Bishop Campbell was ordained as an auxiliary bishop of Washington on April 21, 2017 by Cardinal Wuerl at the Cathedral of St. Matthew the Apostle.
In addition to being the pastor of Saint Joseph’s, he has served as dean of Middle Prince George’s County, and is a member of the Clergy Personnel Board, Vocations Board and College of Consultors.
Bishop Campbell has three brothers, Roscoe William, Rodney Jerome and Robert, and two sisters, Cynthia and Darlene and his mother, Elizabeth (Barbour) Campbell. Rev. Campbell’s father, Mr. Roy Edward Campbell, Sr., passed away in 2007. Rev. Campbell is the proud uncle of eight nieces, five nephews, six grandnephews and two grandnieces.
Biographies
The Most Reverend Shelton J. Fabre
Archbishop Shelton J. Fabre was born October 25, 1963 to Luke Fabre, Jr. and Theresa Ann Vallet Fabre. He is the fifth of six children. He attended primary and secondary schools in New Roads, Louisiana, graduating in 1981 as valedictorian of Catholic High School of Pointe Coupée. He then entered Saint Joseph Seminary College in St. Benedict, Louisiana, graduating with a Bachelor of History degree in 1985.
After completing his studies at Saint Joseph, Fabre was sent to the American College of Louvain in Leuven, Belgium. He received additional priestly formation there while studying at the Katholieke Universiteit te Leuven. He was awarded a Bachelor of Religious Studies degree in 1987 and a Master of Religious Studies degree in 1989 from Katholieke Universiteit.
Fabre was ordained a priest for the Diocese of Baton Rouge on August 5, 1989. After his ordination, he served as Associate Pastor of the parishes of St. Alphonsus Liguori Church in Greenwell Springs, St. George Church in Baton Rouge, St. Isidore the Farmer Church in Baker, and St. Joseph Cathedral in Baton Rouge. He served as Pastor at both St. Joseph Parish in Grosse Tete and Immaculate Heart of Mary Parish in Maringouin, as well as Pastor of Sacred Heart of Jesus Parish in Baton Rouge.
Fabre’s diocesan positions during this period were as chaplain at Louisiana State Penitentiary at Angola, Defender of the Bond for the Marriage Tribunal, and Dean of the Northwest Deanery. He also served on the Diocese of Baton Rouge Priest Council, College of Consultors, School Board, Clergy Personnel Board, Chairman of Pastoral Planning, and Director of the Office of Black Catholics..
On December 13, 2006, Pope Benedict XVI appointed Fabre as Auxiliary Bishop of New Orleans. He was ordained by Archbishop Alfred Hughes on February 28, 2007 in New Orleans. As Auxiliary Bishop, he worked to help rebuild the Archdiocese of New Orleans after the devastation of Hurricane Katrina.
On September 23, 2013, Pope Francis appointed Bishop Fabre as the Bishop of the Diocese of Houma-Thibodaux. He was installed at the Cathedral of St. Francis de Sales on October 30, 2013. His leadership in Houma-Thibodaux leaves a legacy where he will be remembered for his listening and availability, as well as pastoral planning and efforts for priestly renewal.
On February 8, 2022, Pope Francis appointed Archbishop Fabre as the tenth Bishop and fifth Archbishop of the Archdiocese of Louisville. He was installed as Archbishop at the Kentucky International Convention Center on March 30, 2022.
From 2018 to 2023, Archbishop Fabre served as the chair of the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops’ (USCCB) Ad Hoc Committee Against Racism and led the writing of the U.S. Bishops’ most recent pastoral letter on racism, Open Wide Our Hearts – The Enduring Call to Love, which was approved and published in 2018.
He currently is a bishop-consultor on the USCCB Committee of Domestic Justice and Human Development and is a member of the USCCB Committee on Laity, Marriage, and Family Life. He also serves as the National Chaplain of the Knights of Peter Claver and Ladies Auxiliary; on the Board of Directors of Catholic Relief Services; and on the Board of Trustees of the National Black Catholic Congress, and on the Board of the Pontifical Mission Societies in the United States.
Biographies
The Most Reverend Joseph N. Perry, J.C.L., D.D.
Bishop Joseph N. Perry serves as Titular Bishop of LEAD after retiring as the Archdiocese of Chicago Episcopal Vicar for Vicariate VI, which includes more than 20 parishes primarily on the city's South Side.
Since 2010, he has been leading the way to ensure sainthood for Father Augustus Tolton, the first recognized priest of African descent in the United States. Cardinal Francis George, OMI, appointed Bishop Perry the Tolton Postulator for the diocesan phase of the cause for sainthood on Jan. 28, 2010
Fr. Tolton served the Diocese of Alton (now Springfield, Illinois) and the Archdiocese of Chicago until his death in 1897 at the age of 43.
Bishop Perry was appointed Titular Bishop of Lead (an historic former see in South Dakota) and Auxiliary to his Cardinal George, former Archbishop of Chicago on May 5, 1998. His episcopal consecration took place June 29, 1998, the feast of Sts. Peter and Paul, at Chicago’s Holy Name Cathedral.
He was ordained by the late Archbishop William Edward Cousins on May 24, 1975, at St. John Cathedral, Milwaukee. After an 18-month assignment as associate pastor of St. Nicholas Parish, Milwaukee, he was assigned to the Tribunal offices of the Archdiocese. He was sent for graduate studies in canon law at The Catholic University of America, Washington D.C., in 1976.
Bishop Perry's priestly ministry has been spent with ecclesiastical law and education working primarily in the church courts as advocate, then as judge in the court of appeals that services the suffragan Dioceses of Superior, LaCrosse, Green Bay, and Madison, Wis., and as conciliation and arbitration clerk. In 1983, he was appointed judicial vicar for the Archdiocese of Milwaukee, a post he held for two six-year terms until his appointment as pastor of All Saints Parish, Milwaukee, in June 1995.
He served as the chaplain of the St. Thomas More Lawyers Society of Wisconsin, an association of lawyers and judges. He also was an adjunct professor of canon law studies at Marquette University Law School (Milwaukee) and Sacred Heart Seminary (Hales Corner, Wis.) until his appointment as bishop.
Bishop Perry served as associate judge in the Second Instance Court of Appeals for the six dioceses in Illinois configured to the Ecclesiastical Province of Chicago 1998-2015. Today, he is an adjunct professor of canon law at St. Mary of the Lake Seminary, Mundelein, Illinois.
Biographies
Dr. Ansel Augustine
Dr. Ansel Augustine is an Emmy nominated producer and an award-winning author. He is presently the Assistant Director of African American Affairs for the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops and the former Director of the Office of Black Catholic Ministries for the Archdiocese of New Orleans. Dr. Augustine also serves on the Board of Trustees of St. Michael's College (Burlington, Vermont).
He is also on the Board of Directors for the Congo Square Preservation Society and the National Black Catholic Congress. He is the former Executive Director of Cultural Diversity and Outreach for the Archdiocese of Washington. Previously he served as the Associate Director/Coordinator of Black Youth & Young Adult Ministry for the CYO Youth & Young Adult Ministry Office. He is also on the Faculty of the Institute for Black Catholic Studies at Xavier University of Louisiana, Graduate Theological Foundation, and Loyola University New Orleans’ Institute for Ministry.
Dr. Augustine has also served as a Campus Minister at Xavier University of Louisiana, Loyola University New Orleans, and St. John’s University in Queens, NY. Ansel has served on the board of directors for the National Catholic Young Adult Ministry Association (NCYAMA) and the National Federation of Catholic Youth Ministry (NFCYM).
He began his career in ministry over 25 years ago when he became the youth minister at his home parish of St. Peter Claver in the Treme area of New Orleans, which he helped to rebuild following hurricane Katrina. He has presented workshops and keynotes around the country and has written various pieces related to ministry including The African American Catholic Youth Bible and, the award-winning book, Leveling the Praying Field: Can the Church we Love, Love us Back?.
Dr. Augustine is also an Emmy Nominated Producer for the documentary Black Faith Matters. Ansel has worked in prison ministry for over 25 years in various capacities. He volunteers with the Mardi Gras Indian Council and at Backstreet Cultural Museum. He is a member of Alpha Phi Alpha Fraternity, Inc., the Knights of Columbus, the Knights of Peter Claver, and has masked with the Wild Tchoupitoulas (Black Masking) Mardi Gras Indians. He is also an Associate Member of the Sisters of the Holy Family in New Orleans, LA. His website is www.holyhotboy.info.
Biographies
Grand Knight Leighton Batiste
Leighton Batiste, a native of Riverdale, Georgia, is the inaugural Grand Knight for the Knights of Peter Claver Council 413 James P. Lyke Collegiate Unit at the Lyke House Catholic Center, serving the Atlanta University Center and Georgia State University.
A graduate of Morehouse College with an MBA from Georgia State University, Leighton is a lifelong Catholic with a strong commitment to uplifting Black communities through Catholic values of faith, charity, and love.
With a dynamic career in sports and media, he excels in content creation and partnership development, enhancing fan experiences and driving brand awareness.
Biographies
Grand Lady Shaylyn Cothron
Shaylyn L. Cothron is a senior Chemistry major at Xavier University of Louisiana double minoring in biology and theology. She originally pursued a pre-medical path, but redirected her focus to theology after a transformative experience at the Institute for Black Catholic Studies.
As the youngest - and first undergraduate - to ever attend the IBCS, her experience had a profound impact and she is now preparing to pursue graduate studies with the goal of earning a Ph.D. in Black Catholic Studies. Alongside her academics, Shaylyn is deeply involved in leadership and service roles. She is a drill instructor for the Department of Chemistry, a teaching assistant for a Christology course in the Department of Theology, and believes deeply in in her responsibility to share knowledge with others - especially future generations.
Since 2023, she has served as Grand Lady of the Knights of St. Peter Claver Ladies Auxiliary Unit #403 and represented Xavier as a student delegate at the 13th National Black Catholic Congress.
Shaylyn also served as a Program Director for the New Orleans Health Leaders Project. She is also a proud member of Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority, Incorporated.
Shaylyn was born and raised in Louisville, Kentucky in a deeply Catholic family whose ancestors were enslaved by the Sisters of Loretto. She formally joined the Catholic Church in 2022 and has since played an active role in campus ministry.
Outside of her busy schedule, Shaylyn enjoys watching women's basketball and letting the Saints stress her out. She is a self-proclaimed coffee sommelier, and enjoys cycling and walking through New Orleans City Park.
