Bishop Gendron, 66, succeeds Bishop Jacques Berthelet, 76, whose resignation was accepted, upon having reached the age limit.
Lionel Gendron was born in 1944 in Saint-Quintin. He was ordained a priest of the Archdiocese of Montreal In 1969, and became a professed member of the Society of Priests of St. Sulpice in 1970.
In 2006, he was named auxiliary bishop of Montreal.
The Diocese of Saint-Jean-Longueuil serves a population of 696,000, of whom 591,000 are Catholic. The diocese counts with 115 priests, 2 permanent deacons and 437 religious.
