In Toronto and Montreal: Three Auxiliary Bishops Appointed
Saturday, February 11 2006(CCCB – Ottawa)…His Holiness Pope Benedict XVI today appointed three Auxiliary Bishops, two to Montreal and one to Toronto.
In Toronto, Reverend Peter J. Hundt will be joining two other Auxiliary Bishops, Most Reverend Richard Grecco and Most Reverend John Boissonneau, who serve Cardinal Aloysius Ambrozic in his episcopal responsibilities.
Bishop-elect Peter Joseph Hundt was born in Hanover, Ontario, on August 26, 1956. After studying at St. Jerome College, the University of Waterloo and St. Peter’s Seminary in London, Ontario, he was ordained to the priesthood on May 8, 1982, for the Diocese of Hamilton. He served as assistant pastor in the parish of St. Eugene, Hamilton, 1982 to 1985; he then pursued his studies in canon law at the University of Saint Thomas Aquinas, the Angelicum, in Rome. Upon his return to Canada in 1987, he served as vice-chancellor of the Diocese of Hamilton for two years before becoming chancellor in 1990. He has been pastor of Holy Cross parish in Georgetown, in the suburbs of Hamilton, since 1994.
The Archdiocese of Toronto has 1,630,000 Catholics. There are 227 parishes and missions, 833 diocesan and religious priests, 111 permanent deacons, 715 religious Brothers and Sisters and 61 lay pastoral agents serving the Archdiocese.
Appointments for Montreal
In Montreal, Cardinal Jean-Claude Turcotte can count on the services of two new collaborators: Reverend Lionel Gendron, P.S.S., and Reverend André Gazaille. Their appointments bring the number of Auxiliary Bishops to three. Most Reverend Anthony Mancini has served as Auxiliary Bishop for the Archdiocese for almost seven years.
The Holy Father accepted the resignation of Most Reverend Jude Saint-Antoine, who held the position of Auxiliary Bishop of Montreal for nearly 25 years. Bishop Saint-Antoine formally requested retirement following his 75th birthday, on 29 October 2005, in conformity with Canon 401.
Bishop-elect Gendron, P.S.S., was born in Saint-Quentin, New Brunswick, on 12 June 1944. After studies in theology at the Grand Seminaire of Montreal, he was ordained to the priesthood on 31 May 1969. After serving in the parish of Saint-Marc in Montreal (1969-1970), he joined the Canadian Province of the Priests of Saint-Sulpice. With a doctorate in theology from the Gregorian Pontifical University in Rome, he taught in Columbia and at the Grand Seminaire in Montreal, where he was rector from 1987 to 1990 and again from 2004-2005. He also served as rector of Saint Joseph Seminary in Edmonton 1990 – 1994 and in 2002; he was then elected Superior of the Canadian Province of the Priests of Saint-Sulpice in 1994, a position he has held until his nomination.
Bishop-elect André Gazaille was born in Montreal on 16 May 1946. Ordained to the priesthood on 29 May 1971 for the Archdiocese of Montreal, he completed his studies in theology and pastoral studies and obtained his bachelor’s and master’s degrees from the Montreal Grand Seminaire and the University of Montreal. He has served several Montreal parishes: Saint-Rédempteur (1971-1979), Saints-Martyrs-Canadiens (1979-2006), Visitation de la Bienheureuse-Vierge-Marie (1999-2006) and Saint-Antoine-Marie-Clavet (2003-2006). From 1975 to 1982, he was also chaplain for the “R3” youth movement and Marriage Encounter.
The Archdiocese of Montreal has 507 diocesan priests, 681 religious priests, 2927 religious Brothers and Sisters, 100 permanent deacons and 123 lay pastoral ministers who serve 1.5 million Catholics in 253 parishes and missions.
According to the 2001 census, these two Canadian dioceses have the largest number of Catholics in the country.
For More information Contact:
Sylvain Salvas
Director, Communications Service
Tel: (613) 241-9461
Fax: (613) 241-9048
salvas@cccb.ca