September 13, 2006
As part of the upcoming Year of Jubilee, the Catholic Church will be celebrating 40 years in Southeast Texas as the Diocese of Beaumont.
The Diocese of Beaumont was established on September 29, 1966, with the installation of Bishop Vincent Harris as founding bishop. The Beaumont Diocese was taken entirely from the Diocese (now Archdiocese) of Galveston-Houston.
Four bishops have followed Bishop Harris (1966-1971) to lead the Catholic faithful of Southeast Texas: Bishop Warren Boudreaux (1971-1977); Bishop Bernard Ganter (1977-1993); Bishop Joseph Galante (1994-1999); and Bishop Curtis J. Guillory, SVD (2000-present).
Though the boundaries of the diocese have changed twice in the past 40 years, the Catholic presence has continued to make an impact on the area. The 80,281 registered Catholics now make up more than 13 percent of the population of Southeast Texas.
In 1986, six counties were taken from the Diocese of Beaumont when the Diocese of Tyler was established. In 1989, the rest of Chambers and Liberty Counties were added.
1966:
2006: