Diocese appoints new schools chief

Terrebonne General teaches prevention at summer speed camps
June 28, 2016
I don’t understand these guys, man
June 28, 2016
Terrebonne General teaches prevention at summer speed camps
June 28, 2016
I don’t understand these guys, man
June 28, 2016

A long-time educator has been chosen by the Diocese of Houma-Thibodaux to head up its school system, as part of a restructuring and focus on strategic planning that officials there say marks a “new chapter in Catholic education.”


Bishop Shelton J. Fabre announced Monday that Suzanne Troxclair, who has served the diocese as its curriculum specialist since 2013, has been named as its sixth superintendent of Catholic Schools. She brings 27 years of experience to the superintendent’s office, including 13 years in the classroom and 10 years specializing in curriculum development, as well as effective teaching and learning practices. The mother of three is a native of Crowley and lives in Thibodaux.

“I am so grateful and humbled to have been entrusted by Bishop Fabre with the ministry of leading the Diocese of Houma-Thibodaux Catholic Schools,” she said. “As we embark on our journey together to meet the needs of our people through the strategic planning process, I am filled with hope and excitement for the promising future that awaits us.”

The Bishop said the choice was made after a broad search.


“We engaged the services of a professional firm to assist us in seeking applications nationally for a new superintendent,” he said. “This firm then worked with the members of our local committee on examining and then interviewing the candidates who applied.”

Other changes include the appointment of the Rev. Simon Peter Engurait, who currently serves as moderator of the Curia, as coordinator of Christian Formation.

He will oversee eight diocesan offices and three ministries, each charged with various aspects of forming disciples. An important focus of the Christian Formation program,


diocesan officials said, will be “strengthening Catholic identity within the diocese’s 13 Catholic schools.”

Bishop Fabre said the priest’s man years of working in the corporate world will bring invaluable experience and that “he also brings his identity as a priest and therefore a pastoral perspective. Father Simon Peter is a man of great prayer and spiritual maturity, and I know that as Coordinator of Christian Formation he will enrich our efforts across the diocese, especially in our Catholic Schools, to assist children, youth, young adults and adults in growing in their relationship with Jesus Christ and in becoming missionary disciples for the Lord.”

As the Diocese nears its 40th anniversary, Bishop Fabre is investing great resources into the strategic plan, which thus far has been concerned with evangelization processes. The second phase of strategic planning, the bishop said, now focuses on the schools, and development of a longterm vision.


The Diocese of Houma-Thibodaux serves over 5,500 Catholic students. •

Diocese new appointments