Pope Francis has accepted the resignation of Bishop David J.J. Monroe of the Diocese of Kamloops in Canada and has appointed today as his successor Father Joseph Phuong Nguyen. At the time of his appointment, the Bishop-elect was Vicar General of the Archdiocese of Vancouver.
Bishop Monroe has been Bishop of the Diocese of Kamloops for the past 14 years. He had submitted his resignation to the Holy Father upon reaching the age of 75, as required by the Code of Canon Law.
Joseph Phuong Nguyen was born on March 25, 1957, in Vietnam. He arrived in Canada through a sponsorship program in the mid-1980s after his studies in Philosophy and Theology in his country of origin. He was ordained a priest for the Archdiocese of Vancouver on May 30, 1992. He served in a number of parishes throughout the Archdiocese before being named Director of the Vocations Office in 2010 and Vicar General and Moderator of the Curia in 2013. He was the first Chaplain of the new Diocesan Pro-life Prayer Apostolate. In the Archdiocese of Vancouver, Bishop-elect Nguyen has been a member of the Presbyteral Council, the College of Consultors and judge for the Matrimonial Vancouver Regional Tribunal. He was also a member of the National Federation of Presbyteral Councils.
According to the CCCB 2016 Directory, the Diocese of Kamloops has 67 parishes and missions, with a Catholic population of 51,435 served by 16 diocesan priests, four priests who are members of institutes of consecrated life, two permanent deacons and 10 Sisters and Brothers who are members of religious institutes.
