Canadian Conference of Catholic Bishops Elect New Executive

The Canadian Conference of Catholic Bishops (CCCB) held its biennial election to determine the new members the Executive Committee and Permanent Council. The Most Reverend William T. McGrattan, Bishop of Calgary was elected as President, and the Most Reverend Pierre Goudreault, Bishop of Sainte-Anne-de-la-Pocatière was elected as Vice President. The election took place at the conclusion of the 2023 Plenary Assembly.

The incoming president, Bishop McGrattan, was born in London, Ontario, on September 19, 1956. He was ordained to the priesthood for the Diocese of London on May 2, 1987. He was appointed Auxiliary Bishop of the Archdiocese of Toronto on November 6, 2009 and his episcopal ordination was held on January 12, 2010. On April 8, 2014, he was appointed Bishop of Peterborough and installed on June 23, 2014. On January 3, 2017, Bishop McGrattan was appointed Bishop of Calgary and installed on February 27, 2017. He has been a member of the Executive Committee since 2017. 

Bishop Pierre Goudreault, elected as the new vice president, was born in Rouyn-Noranda, Québec, on May 27, 1963. He was ordained to the priesthood for the Diocese of Rouyn-Noranda on May 18, 1991. He was appointed Bishop of Sainte-Anne-de-la-Pocatière in December 8, 2017. Bishop Goudreault was ordained Bishop and installed on March 10, 2018. He has been a member of the Executive Committee since 2019. 

The Executive Committee also includes two Co-Treasurers: for a second term, the Most Rev. Gerard Bergie, Bishop of St. Catharines, and for a first term, the Most Rev. Christian Rodembourg, M.S.A., Bishop of Saint-Hyacinthe. 

The Most Rev. Msgr. Wayne Kirkpatrick (Atlantic), the Most Rev. Daniel Jodoin (Quebec), the Most Rev. Daniel J. Miehm (Ontario), and the Most Rev. Mark Hagemoen (West) were elected to the Permanent Council as regional representatives. The Plenary Assembly also elected two French sectorial representatives, the Most Rev. Guy Desrochers, C.Ss.R., and the Most Rev. Pierre-Olivier Tremblay, O.M.I. 

As part of the regular proceedings of the meetings, the Plenary Assembly meeting began with a message to the Holy Father, followed by the President’s Report on the Conference’s activities over the previous year. The Apostolic Nuncio to Canada, the Most Reverend Ivan Jurkovič, delivered greetings to all Bishops on behalf of Pope Francis. The Bishops of Canada were pleased to receive an address by His Eminence Luis Antonio Gokim Cardinal Tagle, on the reform of the Roman Curia according to Pope Francis’ Apostolic Constitution Predicate Evangelium. To read the entire news item, please visit the CCCB website.