Auxiliary Bishops Appointed for Sault Ste-Marie and Saint-Jérôme

Saturday, October 26 2002

(Cornwall – CCCB) His Holiness Pope John Paul II today named Msgr. Robert Harris, C.S.S., Episcopal Vicar of the Anglophone Faithful of the Archdiocese of Montreal, as Auxiliary Bishop of Sault Ste-Marie, and Rev. Donald Lapointe, pastor of the parishes of the Pastoral Sector Nouvel Horizon in the Archdiocese of Sherbrooke, as Auxiliary Bishop of Saint-Jérôme.

At the same time, Pope John Paul II announced the resignation of Bishop Colin Campbell of Antigonish for reasons of health according to Canon 401, para 2, of the Code of Canon Law. Bishop Campbell has served in Antigonish for close to twelve years.

Bishop-Elect Harris was born in Montreal on September 26, 1944, ordained to the priesthood in 1969, and named a Chaplain to the Holy Father in April 2002. He received a license in theology from the Grand Séminaire de Montréal and later received a license in canon law at Gregorian University in Rome.

He has been pastor at a number of English-speaking parishes in Montreal as well as Vice-Chancellor of the Archdiocese, Director of Pastoral Formation at the Grand Séminaire de Montreal, Director of Vocations for the Anglophone community, General Coordinator of English Pastoral Services, Collegial Judge of the Ecclesiastical Tribunal of Montreal, and finally, Episcopal Vicar to the Anglophone Faithful of the Archdiocese of Montreal.

The Diocese of Sault Ste-Marie has 102 diocesan priests, 32 religious order priests, 108 permanent deacons, and 257 religious brothers and sisters serving a Catholic population of 353,000 in 117 parishes and missions. The current Bishop of Sault-Ste-Marie is Most Rev. Jean-Louis Plouffe.

Bishop-Elect Lapointe was born in 1936 in Disraéli, Québec, and ordained to the priesthood in 1964. He taught at the Séminaire de Sherbrooke from 1964-1970 and then was assigned to a number of parishes in the Archdiocese of Sherbrooke since then. He was also episcopal vicar in charge of pastoral ministry from 1986-1990.

The Diocese of Saint-Jérôme has 91 diocesan priests, 32 religious order priests, 17 permanent deacons, and 367 religious sisters and brothers serving in 117 parishes and missions. The current Bishop of Saint-Jérôme is Most Rev. Gilles Cazabon, O.M.I.