(CCCB - Ottawa) – His Holiness Pope Benedict XVI today appointed Msgr. Donald Bolen as Bishop of Saskatoon, Saskatchewan. The see of Saskatoon had been vacant since the nomination earlier this year of Most Rev. Albert LeGatt as Archbishop of Saint-Boniface.

Bishop-elect Bolen was born in Gravelbourg, Saskatchewan on February 7, 1961. After earning his B.A. Honours in religious studies at the University of Regina, in 1986, he pursued his education at Saint Paul Seminary in Ottawa, completing a licentiate in theology.

Bishop-elect Donald Bolen was ordained to the priesthood on 12 October, 1991 for the Archdiocese of Regina. Following his ordination, he received several pastoral appointments within the Archdiocese. He also served on the Pontifical Council for Promoting Christian Unity, working in relations with the Anglican Communion and World Methodist Council, from 2001 to 2008.

In November, 2008, he was awarded the Cross of St Augustine by the Archbishop of Canterbury for his service to relations between the Catholic Church and the Anglican Communion.

Since August 2009, he has been serving as Vicar General for the Archdiocese of Regina. The Diocese of Saskatoon has a Catholic population of 86,645 in 98 parishes and missions, served by 49 diocesan priests, 43 religious order priests, three permanent deacons, 182 religious Sisters and Brothers, and 10 lay pastoral workers.