(This article has been updated with links to the livestreams for Bishop Dorsonville's Memorial Mass in the Washington area and his Funeral Mass in Louisiana.)
Washington Cardinal Wilton Gregory will celebrate a Memorial Mass for Bishop Mario Dorsonville on Friday, Feb. 2 at 4 p.m. at Our Lady of Lourdes Catholic Church in Bethesda, Maryland.
Bishop Dorsonville, who for the past year served as bishop of the Diocese of Houma-Thibodaux, Louisiana, died Jan. 19 at Ochsner Medical Center in Kenner, Louisiana due to ongoing health complications related to liver disease which was discovered late last year.
The Memorial Mass at Our Lady of Lourdes Catholic Church follows two wakes, a funeral Mass and a burial for the late bishop in the Diocese of Houma-Thibodaux.
In Louisiana, a viewing will be held Wednesday, Jan. 31 from 9 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. at the Cathedral of St. Francis de Sales in Houma. It will be followed by Evening Prayer at 5:30 p.m. and a Memorial Mass for the Dead at 7 p.m.
On Thursday, Feb. 1, a visitation will be held from 8 a.m. until 2 p.m. at St. Joseph Co-Cathedral in Thibodaux. The funeral Mass for Bishop Dorsonville will be offered there at 2 p.m. Central Time, and burial will follow on the grounds of the co-cathedral. Afterwards, there will be a reception in the Thibodaux Regional Wellness Center.
Here is the livestream link for Bishop Dorsonville's funeral Mass.
In lieu of flowers, the Diocese of Houma-Thibodaux has suggested contributions be made to the Bishop Mario E. Dorsonville Seminarian Scholarship Endowment through the Catholic Foundation of South Louisiana.
Bishop Dorsonville, 63, was a native of Colombia who served as a priest and auxiliary bishop in The Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Washington before being named by Pope Francis as the bishop of Houma-Thibodaux on Feb. 1, 2023. He was installed as the bishop there on March 29 last year.
In a Jan. 19 statement posted on the diocese’s social media and its website, Father Simon Peter Engurait, the vicar general of the Diocese of Houma-Thibodaux, said: “It is with great sadness and deep shock that I announce to you that our beloved shepherd, Bishop Mario Dorsonville, passed away at 6:50 p.m. this evening after he gave in to complications arising from recent health problems.”
That diocese’s vicar general in his statement also noted, “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. 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. Eternal rest be granted unto Bishop Dorsonville and may God’s perpetual light be upon him. Amen.”
Bishop Dorsonville was remembered as “our former auxiliary, and admired and good friend to all who knew him,” in a Jan. 20 letter to the priests and members of The Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Washington emailed by Washington Auxiliary Bishop Juan Esposito, the archdiocese’s Vicar General and Moderator of the Curia.
As he noted that Bishop Dorsonville “was summoned to the House of the Father last evening,” Bishop Esposito said he was sharing the news “with a heavy heart.”
“Those who were touched by Bishop Dorsonville came to know what a special soul he is,” Bishop Esposito said in the letter, adding, “His friendliness, cordial smile and gracious kindness warmed the hearts of everyone who encountered him. A priest forever by virtue of his ordination, he was a good and faithful servant of the Lord he loved so well and served with such fervent dedication.”
Bishop Michael G. Duca of Baton Rouge, Louisiana, said in a statement Jan. 19, “I was deeply saddened to hear of the untimely death of my brother bishop Mario Dorsonville of Houma-Thibodaux. The faithful of the Diocese of Baton Rouge join me in prayer for the people of his diocese who have embraced him so lovingly during his short time among them. May he rest eternally in the arms of our Lord and Savior.”
Mario E. Dorsonville was born Oct. 31, 1960 in Bogotá, Colombia, the only child of Leonor M. Rodríguez and Carlos J. Dorsonville. He attended the Major Seminary of the Archdiocese of Bogotá, receiving a bachelor’s degree in philosophy in 1981 and a bachelor’s degree in sacred theology in 1985. He was ordained to the priesthood on Nov. 23, 1985 in Bogotá.
Following ordination, he served as parochial vicar of Immaculate Heart of Mary parish, Bogotá (1986), pastor of San Jose de Calasanz parish, Bogotá (1987-1991), associate chaplain (1988-1991) and professor of business ethics (1990-1991) at the National University of Colombia, Bogotá.
Bishop Dorsonville received a licentiate in sacred theology from the Pontificia Universidad Javeriana de Bogotá in 1991 and a doctorate in ministry from The Catholic University of America in 1996.
From 1992-1994, while studying at Catholic University, he assisted the Hispanic community on weekends at Good Shepherd and Christ the Redeemer parishes in Arlington, Virginia, and served as a lecturer at the Inter-American Development Bank headquarters in Washington, D.C. He served as professor of theology and catechesis at the Institute for Hispanic Pastoral Studies of Arlington from 1993-1994.
He returned briefly to Colombia to serve as chaplain and professor of business ethics to the National University of Colombia and professor of pastoral counseling and catechesis at the Major Seminary of the Archdiocese of Bogotá from 1995-1996.
His first appointment within the Archdiocese of Washington was as parochial vicar of Our Lady of Lourdes Parish in Bethesda, Maryland from 1997-2004. He also served as parochial vicar of St. Mark the Evangelist Parish in Hyattsville, Maryland from 2004-2005 and he was a member of the Board of Directors for Carroll Publishing Company from 2001-2004.
Bishop Dorsonville served as vice president of Catholic Charities of the Archdiocese of Washington and director of the Spanish Catholic Center from 2005 to 2015. He completed an executive certificate in non-profit management at Georgetown University in 2009. From 2011-15, he served as an adjunct spiritual director of St. John Paul II Seminary in Washington, D.C., as well as a mentor for newly ordained priests.
He was named an auxiliary bishop for the Archdiocese of Washington by Pope Francis on March 20, 2015 and ordained to the episcopate on April 20, 2015. He then served as a vicar general for the Archdiocese of Washington.
While serving as an auxiliary bishop in Washington, Bishop Dorsonville was also a member of the Board of Directors of the Maryland Catholic Conference and a member of the Board of Directors of Catholic Charities. He served on the Council of Priests for the Archdiocese of Washington and was a member of its College of Consultors.
Bishop Dorsonville was the chairman for the Migration and Refugee Services Committee for the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops from 2019-2022 and was a member of their Committee on Domestic Justice and Human Development, Committee for Religious Liberty, and the Ad Hoc Committee Against Racism.
Bishop Esposito closed his letter to the people of the Archdiocese of Washington sharing the news of Bishop Dorsonville’s death by adding, “It was with great joy that, less than a year ago, we celebrated Bishop Dorsonville being named Bishop of Houma-Thibodaux, Louisiana. Now, as his spiritual families in Houma-Thibodaux and Washington mourn his sudden passing, let us join together in prayerful communion for the repose of his soul in the sure and certain faith that his life is changed, but not ended. His earthly course now completed, may this servant of the Lord, pastor of souls, enjoy eternal life with the Lord and all the saints in that heavenly city of light and peace. In addition to your own prayers, may you find consolation in the outpouring of Masses, prayers and intentions which will be offered up for our beloved friend and my brother priest.”
