Bishop Olivier was
born in Lake Charles,Louisiana, in 1923. Bishop Olivier was
the fifth of eight children. He attended Sacred Heart of Jesus
grade school in town, St. Augustine Seminary in Bay St. Louis,
Mississippi and St. Mary's Seminary in Techny, Illinois and
was ordained a Divine Word Missionary in Bay St. Louis, Mississippi
in 1951.
From 1952 to 1973, he was successively Assistant Dean and Dean
of Seminarians, and rector of the Religious Community.
From
1974 to 1982, he was Secretary of Studies for all USA Divine
Word Seminaries and Rector of the Religious Community of Divine
Word Seminary, Epworth, Iowa.
St. Anthony's parish in Lafayette, Louisiana was his first pastorate.
In the last two years of that assignment, he also served as
part time Vicar for Black Catholics in the Diocese of Lafayette,
Louisiana. He became full time Vicar in 1986.
Two years later,
November 7, 1988, he was appointed Auxiliary Bishop of the Archdiocese
of Washington by Pope John Paul II. Ordained Bishop on December
20 1988, he has been serving as Regional Bishop of Northeast,
Southeast., and East Northwest Deaneries of the District of
Columbia, and Deaneries of North and Middle Prince George's
Counties, and since 1995, the Deaneries of Northeast and Southeast
of the District of Columbia, of Lower Prince George County,
and Counties of Charles, Calvert, and St. Mary's.
Bishop Olivier is a Fourth Degree Knight of St. Peter Claver,
a Fourth Degree Knight of St. John and Columbus. He served as
the Convener of the African American Catholic Bishops Subcommittee
on Youth, the Ad Hoc Steering Committee for the National Strategy
on Vocations, and now the Task Force Group for American Adaptations
to the Order of Christian Marriage, and the Liturgy Committee
of USCC/NCCB.
He is also a member of NCCB Committee on Bishops
Life and Ministry, Board Member of Convenant House Washington,
Member of the Inter-Faith Conference, Member of Maryland Catholic
Conference, Board Member of The National Black Catholic Congress,
Member of National Black Catholic Clergy Caucus, and Episcopal
Moderator of the Pan African Roman Catholic Clergy Conference.
