Bishop-Elect’s ‘Strong Foundation’ Has Roots in Renewal Ministries
by Heather Schultz | Jun 13, 2025
Pope Leo XIV recently named Fr. Simon Peter Engurait bishop-elect of the Diocese of Houma-Thibodaux, Louisiana—an appointment that may never have taken place without a Renewal Ministries’ mission trip to Uganda.
In 2003, a team composed of Ralph Martin; Peter Herbeck; and Bishop Sam Jacobs, the first chairman of Renewal Ministries’ Board of Directors, spoke at the first International Priests’ Retreat at Ggaba National Major Seminary in Uganda.
Bishop Jacobs said,
One of the priests on retreat told me I needed to talk to Simon Peter, who was discerning priesthood and needed help in the process of discernment. We met at a cafe and had a good conversation. It was clear to me that there were grounds for good discernment, because he had a strong foundation.
Simon Peter later reached out to ask about additional discernment. The bishop invited Simon Peter to visit the States, where he would “walk with (him) and discern.” The bishop told Simon Peter he did not need to decide anything; it was simply a chance to better discern if this was God’s call.
Simon Peter visited Bishop Jacobs in the Diocese of Houma-Thibodaux. “He spent about a month here, and we had some good discussions,” said Bishop Jacobs. “I said, ‘Go back and pray about it. If you think God is calling you to this diocese, come back.’ And he did. I walked with him and eventually ordained him.”
In addition to ordaining Fr. Simon Peter in 2013, Bishop Jacobs—who retired in September 2013—likely will be a co-consecrator when he is ordained as a bishop.
Bishop Jacobs saw in Fr. Simon Peter genuine humility, as well zeal for and hunger to do God’s work.
Fr. Simon Peter’s faith journey as a young man in Uganda was substantially influenced by the Emmaus Centre Katikamu, which Renewal Ministries has supported for almost twenty-five years.
According to Joseph Auno Okiror, the centre’s co-founder and director, a 1992 outreach “was decisive in helping (Fr. Simon Peter) surrender his life to Jesus wholeheartedly.” From that point forward, he “devoted most of his spare time sharing the Gospel of Jesus Christ with all those he came across.”
The Diocese of Houma-Thibodaux’s website explains that Fr. Simon Peter’s background includes “a career in public service, including (senior management) roles in Uganda’s government and a Master of Business Administration from the Netherlands.” It adds that in college, “he had a profound encounter with the Catholic Charismatic Renewal that shaped his spiritual path and ultimately led him back to discern a priestly vocation.” According to Okiror, Fr. Simon Peter participated in university programs at the Emmaus Centre Katikamu sponsored by Renewal Ministries.
Okiror said Fr. Simon Peter “experienced God’s love through the Holy Spirit (and) is gifted with many charisms to help him serve.”
Bishop Jacobs explained the bishop-elect’s spirituality is “very obvious, but he doesn’t force it on anyone. He just lives it himself. He’s a very prayerful man who discerns what God’s will is before he acts. The renewal has brought him a deeper experience of Jesus as Lord and the opening to gifts of the Spirit.”
When asked what advice he has for the bishop-elect, Bishop Jacobs said to be a shepherd, be himself, and make his decisions after prayer.
“It is that feeling a father has when his son or grandson is born. It’s the relationship of father and a son,” Bishop Jacobs said of walking so closely with Bishop-elect Simon Peter. “Now that he will be elevated to a bishop, it gives even greater joy in a spiritual father’s heart.”
Heather Schultz is Renewal Ministries' editor. She graduated from Hillsdale College and has nearly thirty years of experience as a writer and editor. She is married to Doug and has five children.
rmartin@renewalministries.net
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This priest’s deep spirituality is a true testament to the graces given to one who deeply immersed themselves into God’s Divine Love.