The Holy Father has accepted the resignation from the pastoral care of the Metropolitan Archdiocese of Ottawa-Cornwall (Canada), presented by His Excellency Monsignor Terrence Thomas Prendergast, SI.
He is succeeded by His Excellency Most Reverend Monsignor Marcel Damphousse, currently Coadjutor Archbishop of the same Archdiocese.
Born on March 19, 1963, in Saint Joseph, Manitoba, Archbishop Marcel Damphousse was ordained a priest on June 28, 1991, for the Archdiocese of Saint Boniface. He served in several French and English parishes throughout the Archdiocese before being appointed Rector of the Cathedral in 2008. The Archbishop earned a Bachelor’s degree in psychology in 1984 at the University College of Saint-Boniface, followed by a Bachelor’s degree in theology in 1989 from Saint Paul University, Ottawa. He received his formation for the priesthood at Saint Paul’s Seminary, Ottawa. In 2002, he earned a licentiate in spiritual theology from the Teresianum in Rome.
For several years, Archbishop Damphousse taught at the Manitoba Catholic School of Evangelization and was vocations director for more than 12 years. Before being appointed Rector of the Cathedral, he was chaplain at St. Boniface Diocesan High School for five years.
He gained experience as a member of the Diocesan Finance Committee, of the Presbyteral Council and of the Diocesan Commissions for Liturgy and for Catechesis. He also served as the spiritual director of the TEC (To Encounter Christ) movement for eight years.
On June 28, 2012, His Holiness Pope Benedict XVI appointed the Reverend Marcel Damphousse as Bishop of Alexandria-Cornwall. He was ordained bishop on September 2, 2012, in St. Finnan’s Cathedral in Alexandria, ON. On November 12, 2015, His Holiness Pope Francis appointed him as the sixth Bishop of the Diocese of Sault Ste. Marie, Ontario.
The Holy See announced on May 6, 2020, his appointment as Coadjutor Archbishop of the new Archdiocese of Ottawa-Cornwall. He was welcomed by the Archdiocese at the Notre-Dame Cathedral-Basilica on June 16, 2020.
