Cathedral Staff

Most Reverend Shelton J. Fabre, D.D.

Archbishop Shelton Joseph Fabre’s Biography 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, 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.

He presently serves 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 also serves on the board of Catholic Relief Services (CRS).

The Very Reverend A. L. Chandler, KCHS

Father Anthony Chandler was ordained a priest of the Archdiocese of Louisville on May 27, 1989. Born on April 15, 1961, in Louisville, Father Chandler was baptized at St. Augustine Church. He attended St. George School and Bishop David High School. He attended Western Kentucky University and St. Meinrad Seminary and School of Theology for college. He then attended the Catholic University of America for major seminary. He also completed post-graduate studies, earning a master’s degree from the University of Louisville in 1985 and an MBA from the University of Maryland in 1993.

Father Chandler has served as pastor of Holy Family Church; St. Bartholomew Church; St. John the Apostle Church in Brandenburg, Ky.; St. Martin of Tours Church in Flaherty, Ky.; Immaculate Conception Church in La Grange, Ky.; and St. Francis of Assisi Church.

He served as associate pastor of St. Martha Church and as administrator pro-tempore at St. Martha, St. Raphael and St. Michael churches. He also served as co-chaplain for St. Xavier High School.

Father Chandler has served the archdiocese as a consultor and president of the Priests’ Council. He has also served as director of the Vocation Office, defender of the bond, as a member of the Archdiocesan Planning Committee and the Catholic Schools Athletic Association. He has served on several boards, including the One Church/One Child Adoption Board, the Holy Cross High School Board, the National Finance Committee-National Black and Indian Mission and the St. Meinrad Board of Overseers.  He also has served as vice chancellor for the Archdiocese of Military Services.

Father’s most recent assignment before assuming the appointment as Rector of the Cathedral and Vicar for Priests was serving as president/CEO of Catholic Charities in the Archdiocese of Fort Worth, Texas.

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Chris McDonell

Deacon Chris McDonell was ordained in August 2012 by the Most Reverend Joseph E. Kurtz, and assigned to serve at the Cathedral of the Assumption.  He currently serves on the Social Concerns Committee and manages the grants for the lunch program at the food kitchen for the Cathedral.  Chris is a native of Minnesota, where he received his undergraduate degree in Communication and then received his MBA from Bellarmine University.  Currently Chris is a certified teacher with JCPS and is a second grade teacher.  Both he and his wife, Melani have received pastoral certificates from Spalding University.  He is also the Chaplin in his son’s Boy Scout Troop.

For the last three years his wife, Melani has worked as a Catechist for the confirmation class at The Church of the Epiphany.  Their son Noah is actively involved with youth group and youth council.

Dr. Philip Brisson

Dr. Philip Brisson is Director of Music and Organist at the Catholic Cathedral of the Assumption in downtown Louisville, the third oldest Catholic Cathedral in the country. In addition to leading the Cathedral’s worship program, he also manages the Cathedral’s Concert Series, which includes the Kelty Endowed Organ Recitals which have further recognized the Cathedral for not only musical excellence in liturgy but also for outstanding concerts in the Louisville community. Philip has led the Cathedral Choir on international concert tours to England, Ireland, Germany, and Austria. Recently, the choir traveled to Washington DC for performances in the Arlington area and at the National Shrine. Locally, the Cathedral Choirs have performed with the Louisville Orchestra, have been featured on television, and have appeared annually for concerts in collaboration with Louisville’s Christ Church Episcopal Cathedral and Calvary Episcopal Church under the title “Louisville’s Three Choirs Festival.” Recent solo performing experiences have included being “Organist in Residence” at Christ Church Cathedral in Oxford, England; appearing on the L’Organo Recital Series at the Piccolo Spoleto Festival in Charleston, SC; and concertizing in Hasselt, Belgium and Rome, Italy.

Dr. Brisson was instrumental in the founding of the Louisville Master Chorale, a premier chorale ensemble which performs the great chorale literature with orchestra in local churches throughout the Louisville area, where he was Organist and Associate Director for its first five years. Prior to his work with the LMC, he was Chorus Master for the Kentucky Opera and prepared choruses for performances which included Puccini’s Turandot and Madame Butterfly, Verdi’s La Traviata, Il Trovatore and Otello, Poulenc’s Dialogues of the Carmelites, Saint-Saëns’ Samson et Dalila, Sullivan’s Pirates of Penzance, Massenet’s Werther, Floyd’s Of Mice and Men, Humperdinck’s Hansel and Gretel, Leoncavallo’s I Pagliacci, Mascagni’s Cavalleria Rusticana, Tchaikovsky’s Iolanta, and Donizetti’s L’elisir d’Amore.

As an organ soloist, he has given recitals in all 50 states. He has appeared with the Lexington Philharmonic, the Oratorio Society of Queens, and with the Louisville Orchestra as guest soloist performing the Saint-Saëns Organ Symphony with Raymond Leppard conducting. In the summer of 2011, Philip was also a featured performer for the Region V AGO Convention in Lexington, KY and the NPM National Convention in Louisville, KY.

As a teacher, Dr. Brisson served on the faculty of Bellarmine University where he taught organ performance and a Church Music Internship at the Cathedral. Until taking over the Kentucky Opera Chorus, he oversaw the choral program at Indiana University Southeast, where he conducted the Concert Choir, the Community Chorus, and taught choral conducting. He has also presented workshops to the American Guild of Organists and to the National Association of Pastoral Musicians at both the regional and national level.

Originally from New York City, Philip received his BM in Organ Performance from the Aaron Copland School of Music at Queens College, CUNY. While at Queens, he studied organ and conducting with Paul Maynard, the former director of the New York Pro Musica. After being accepted into graduate organ performance programs at Juilliard, Indiana, and Michigan, Philip decided to attend Westminster Choir College in Princeton, New Jersey, where he earned a Masters in Sacred Music. While at Westminster, he studied organ with Robert Carwithen and choral conducting with Allen Crowell. He was also fortunate to regularly sing under Joseph Flummerfelt in the Westminster Symphonic Choir which performed Stravinsky’s Symphony of Psalms with the Los Angeles Philharmonic, conducted by Esa-Pekka Salonen and Hindemith’s Requiem with the Philadelphia Orchestra, conducted by Wolfgang Sawallisch. In 2005, Philip earned a Doctorate in Organ Performance from the Eastman School of Music in Rochester, New York, where he studied organ with David Higgs and received a choral conducting minor while studying conducting with William Weinert.

Philip Brisson is active in the American Guild of Organists, has served on the Louisville Chapter’s Executive Committee and has held both the Sub-Dean and Dean positions for the Guild. He is also the National Association of Pastoral Musicians Organist Liaison for the Louisville Archdiocese, has served as Membership Chairman of the Roman Catholic Conference of Cathedral Musicians, and is a member of The Honorable Order of Kentucky Colonels. Dr. Brisson also founded the concert artist cooperative EastWestOrganists.com, which represents several prominent young American organists in the United States. Philip, his wife, and their eight-year-old daughter reside in Old Louisville, the nation’s largest Victorian Historic District.

Angela Wiggins

Angela Wiggins, Director of Parish Life and Communications,  began working in the Cathedral office in November 1998.    Many past generations of her family were Cathedral members. Before working at the Cathedral, Angela had worked in the Archdiocese as a secretary at St. Therese School and as an office manager for the Lourdes Rosary Shrine of the Dominican Fathers of St. Louis Bertrand Priory.  She is a 2009 University of Louisville graduate with a bachelor’s degree in Liberal Studies (parish/non-profit administration) with a minor in Communication.