Diocese of Alexandria-Cornwall
Appointment of Bishop Durocher to Gatineau
October 12, 2011
(Cornwall, Ontario)… His
Holiness Pope Benedict XVI today accepted the resignation of the Most Reverend Roger Ébacher and named the Most Reverend Paul-André
Durocher as Archbishop of Gatineau. At the time of his appointment, Archbishop Durocher was Bishop of Alexandria-Cornwall. Archbishop
Ébacher had been responsible for the Archdiocese of Gatineau for 23 years. He had offered his resignation after becoming 75 years
old, as stipulated by the Code of Canon Law.
Bishop Durocher was born on May 28, 1954, in Windsor, Ontario. He was ordained
to the priesthood on July 2, 1982, for the Diocese of Timmins and appointed Auxiliary Bishop of Sault Ste. Marie on January 20, 1997.
On April 26, 2002, he was appointed Bishop of Alexandria-Cornwall.
He entered Saint Paul's Seminary in Ottawa where he earned
two degrees in theology, a Bachelor’s in 1981 and a Master’s in 1985. He also completed a Bachelor of Education at the University
of Ottawa in 1980. In 1982, he completed a civil licentiate in canon law from the University of Strasbourg in France, and in 1996
earned a licentiate in theology from the Pontifical Gregorian University in Rome. Archbishop-elect Durocher serves on the Executive
Committee of the Canadian Conference of Catholic Bishops (CCCB) as its current Co-Treasurer. He is also a member of its French Sector
Episcopal Commission for Liturgy and the Sacraments.
The Archdiocese of Gatineau has 53 parishes and missions, with a Catholic
population of 256,800, which is served by 45 diocesan priests, 25 priests who are members of religious communities, 183 Religious
Sisters and Brothers, one permanent deacon and 18 lay pastoral assistants.
Bishop Durocher must take up his new pastoral office
within the next two months. Meanwhile, he remains administrator of the Diocese of Alexandria-Cornwall. The date of the inauguration
of his pastoral ministry in Gatineau has yet to be determined.
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________________________________________
Kimberly Walsh
Chancellor
of the Diocese of Alexandria-Cornwall
Telephone: (613) 933-1138 (ext. 32)