His Holiness Pope Francis today accepted the resignation of the Most Reverend Gilles Lussier as Bishop of Joliette, and named as his successor the Most Reverend Raymond Poisson. At the time of his appointment, the Bishop-elect was Auxiliary Bishop of Saint-Jérôme.
Bishop Lussier has been responsible for the Diocese of Joliette for the past 24 years. He had offered his resignation to the Holy Father when reaching the age of 75, as required by the Code of Canon Law.
Raymond Poisson was born on April 30, 1958, in Saint-Jean-Baptiste de Rouville, Quebec. After completing his secondary studies at the Séminaire Très-Sainte-Trinité of Saint-Bruno, he pursued his collegial studies in administration at College André-Grasset and obtained a Bachelor’s degree in theology and then a Master’s degree from the University of Montreal. He holds a doctorate in fundamental theology from the Pontifical Gregorian University, Rome, specializing in ecclesiology.
He was ordained to the priesthood on December 9, 1983, for the Diocese of Saint-Jean-Longueuil by its then Bishop, the Most Reverend Bernard Hubert. As a priest, he worked at the diocesan level as private secretary to Bishop Hubert and member of the Council of Priests, as well as with the Office for Priests and the Vocations Office. Before his appointment as Auxiliary Bishop of Saint-Jérôme on May 1, 2012, he was also a member of a committee of the Assembly of Québec Catholic Bishops which studies how to preserve Quebec’s heritage of religious art and architecture. Before being ordained Bishop on June 15, 2012, he served as well as a chaplain of the Canadian Association of the Order of Malta. .
As a member of the Canadian Conference of Catholic Bishops (CCCB), Bishop Poisson currently serves on its Episcopal Commission for Justice and Peace.
According to the CCCB 2015 Directory, the Diocese of Joliette has 24 parishes and missions, with a Catholic population of 206,981 served by 55 diocesan priests, 46 priests who are members of religious communities, seven permanent deacons, 176 religious Sisters and Brothers and 30 lay pastoral assistants.
