New Archbishop Appointed to Grouard-McLennan

Friday, June 09 2000

His Holiness Pope John Paul II today named Most Reverend Arthé Guimond as the new Archbishop of Grouard-McLennan, Alberta.

Until his recent appointment, the new archbishop had been diocesan administrator of the Archdiocese of Grouard-McLennan following the death of Most Reverend Henri Goudreault, OMI, in July 1998. The archdiocese is located in northwestern Alberta.

Born on May 22, 1931, in St. François-Xavier des Hauteurs, Quebec, Archbishop- elect Guimond did his secondary education at Rimouski seminary, Quebec, as well as theological studies at the University of Montreal and the Gregorian University in Rome where he obtained a doctorate in theology in 1972.

Following his ordination to the priesthood in 1957, he did pastoral work in the Archdiocese of Grouard-McLennan for four years and then again almost 30 years later, between 1987 and 1998, when he was pastor of Fairview and then Peace River.

The new archbishop has been extensively involved in education. He has taught at the Collège universitaire de Hearst in Ontario; the San Francisco archdiocesan seminary; Newman Theological College, Saint Albert, Alberta; the University of Saskatchewan, Saskatoon; and Saint Boniface Seminary in Manitoba. From 1975 to 1987 he served as a theologian on what was then the pastoral team of the Canadian Conference of Catholic Bishops.

The Archdiocese of Grouard-McLennan, with a Catholic population of more than 40,000 in 69 parishes and missions, is served by four diocesan priests and 13 priests who are members of religious communities, as well as one permanent deacon. There are also 91 religious brothers and sisters in the archdiocese who are members of religious communities.