Archbishops named for Halifax and St. John’s
Wednesday, October 17 2007His Holiness Pope Benedict XVI today named two Archbishops. Most Reverend Anthony Mancini becomes Archbishop of the Archdiocese of Halifax and Apostolic Administrator of the Diocese of Yarmouth, Nova Scotia. Most Reverend Martin William Currie will head the Archdiocese of St. John’s, Newfoundland and Labrador. Archbishop Currie will also remain Bishop of the neighbouring Diocese of Grand Falls, a pastoral responsibility he has had for almost seven years.
His Holiness Pope Benedict XVI today named two Archbishops. Most Reverend Anthony Mancini becomes Archbishop of the Archdiocese of Halifax and Apostolic Administrator of the Diocese of Yarmouth, Nova Scotia. Most Reverend Martin William Currie will head the Archdiocese of St. John’s, Newfoundland and Labrador. Archbishop Currie will also remain Bishop of the neighbouring Diocese of Grand Falls, a pastoral responsibility he has had for almost seven years.
At the time of his nomination, Archbishop-elect Mancini was Auxiliary Bishop of Montreal, where he worked closely with Cardinal Jean-Claude Turcotte. Born in Italy on 27 November 1945, the new Archbishop of Halifax was raised in Montreal after his parents had moved to Canada. Ordained to the priesthood on 23 May 1970, he holds a doctorate in pastoral theology from the University of Montreal. He has wide experience at the diocesan level, having served as Vicar General and general co-ordinator for administrative and financial services as well as director of the Office for English Pastoral Services in the Archdiocese of Montreal.
As Apostolic Administrator of the Diocese of Yarmouth, Archbishop Mancini will have all the faculties of a residential Bishop during the episcopal vacancy. Archbishop Terrence Prendergast, S.J., and more recently Bishop Claude Champagne, O.M.I., had this same responsibility over recent years. Bishop Champagne remains Auxiliary Bishop of Halifax.
The Archdiocese of Halifax has 63 diocesan priests, 12 religious priests, 244 religious Brothers and Sisters, 29 permanent deacons and 24 lay pastoral ministers, serving a Catholic population of 161,000 in 74 parishes and missions. The Diocese of Yarmouth has 37,000 Catholics in 39 parishes and missions, served by 28 diocesan priests, 16 religious Brothers and Sisters, three permanent deacons and four lay pastoral ministers.
St. John’s
The newly appointed Archbishop of St. John’s, Nfld., was born on 11 December 1943 at Marinette, Sheet Harbour, Nova Scotia, and ordained to the priesthood on 12 May 1968, after studying theology at Holy Heart Seminary in Halifax. A missionary in Peru for four years, he also served in a number of Nova Scotian parishes, including as rector of Saint Mary’s Basilica in Halifax. He had been both Vicar General and Chancellor of the Archdiocese of Halifax before being named Bishop of Grand Falls.
During 2006 and 2007, he was also Apostolic Administrator of Saint John, New Brunswick. As a member of the Canadian Conference of Catholic Bishops (CCCB), he has served on the National Council of the Canadian Catholic Organization for Development and Peace, founded by the Bishops of Canada 40 years ago as their agency for international development and solidarity.
The Archdiocese of St. John’s has a Catholic population of 111,000 in 72 parishes and missions, served by 52 priests, 214 religious Brothers and Sisters and one lay pastoral agent.