Sam Jacobs (bishop)

Sam Gallip Jacobs (born March 4, 1938) is an American prelate of the Roman Catholic Church. He is the Bishop Emeritus of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Houma-Thibodaux, having served as its third bishop from 2003 to 2013. Before that, he served as Bishop of the Alexandria, Louisiana, from 1989 to 2003.

Jacobs was born in Greenwood, Mississippi, but raised in Lake Charles, Louisiana. He studied at Immaculata Seminary in Lafayette from 1951 to 1957, and at the Catholic University of America in Washington, D.C. from 1957 to 1964. On June 6, 1964, he was ordained to the priesthood for the Diocese of Lafayette by Bishop Warren L. Boudreaux. Jacobs served as pastor, chaplain, and associate pastor of several parishes in the Diocese of Lafayette and the Diocese of Lake Charles. He has served as chairman of the National Service Committee for the Charismatic Renewal and Diocesan Director of Vocations and Seminarians for the Diocese of Lake Charles.

On July 1, 1989, Jacobs was appointed the tenth Bishop of Alexandria by Pope John Paul II. He received his episcopal consecration on the following August 24 from Archbishop Francis Schulte, with Bishops Boudreaux and Jude Speyrer serving as co-consecrators.

Jacobs was named the third Bishop of Houma-Thibodaux on August 1, 2003, and was installed on October 10 of that year. Some have categorized Bishop Jacobs' approach to the mass as charismatic.

Within the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops, he was chairman of the Committee for Evangelization (2005-2007), and is currently a member of the Committee on Laity, Marriage, Family Life and Youth and the Committee on Evangelization and Catechesis.

On September 23, 2013, Pope Francis appointed Auxiliary Bishop Shelton Fabre of New Orleans as his successor and accepted his resignation.