Pope Francis has appointed today Father Scott McCaig, C.C. as Bishop of the Military Ordinariate of Canada.
He succeeds Most Reverend Donald J. Thériault.
At the time of his appointment, the Bishop-elect was General Superior of the Companions of the Cross.
Bishop Thériault has been Bishop of the Military Ordinariate of Canada for the past 18 years. He had submitted his resignation to the Holy Father at the age of 70 because of his health. With the announcement of the acceptance of the resignation of Bishop Thériault, the Holy Father also announced that he appointed him Apostolic Administrator until the new Bishop takes canonical possession of the Military Ordinariate of Canada.
Scott McCaig was born on December 12, 1965, in Kamloops, B.C. After entering into full communion with the Catholic Church in 1987 and obtaining a Bachelor’s degree in history from Carleton University, Ottawa, he joined the Companions of the Cross in 1989. He had previously been involved in youth ministry and served with NET Youth Ministries. He holds a Master’s degee in Divinity from St. Augustine’s Seminary and the University of Toronto. He was ordained a priest in June 1995, elected General Superior of the Companions of the Cross in 2006, and re-elected for a second term in 2012.
Bishop Thériault was born in 1946 in Paquetville, New Brunswick. He was ordained a priest for the Diocese of London on May 8, 1971. On March 25, 1998, he was appointed Bishop of the Military Ordinariate of Canada, and ordained Bishop in Ottawa on June 1, 1998. As a member of the Canadian Conference of Catholic Bishops, Bishop Thériault served on the former Episcopal Commission for Social Affairs (1999-2003) and on the former Episcopal Commission for Liturgy of the English Sector (2003-2008).
According to the CCCB 2016 Directory, the Military Ordinariate of Canada has 23 parishes and missions, with a Catholic population of 13,400 served by 41 diocesan priests, one priest who is member of a religious institute, eight permanent deacons and 40 lay pastoral assistants.
