Thursday, October 31, 2013

New appointments in Canada

On Tuesday, October 15, 2013, His Holiness, Pope Francis appointed Monsignor Mark Hagemoen, PH from the clergy of the Archdiocese of Vancouver (British Columbia) as the new Bishop of Mackenzie-Fort Smith (NWT).


Bishop-elect Hagemoen was born and raised in Vancouver.  He completed a Bachelor of Arts at the University of British Columbia and then traveled throughout Southeast Asia, the Middle East and parts of Europe for one year before entering Saint Peter's Seminary in London (Ontario).  He completed the Master of Divinity degree there in 1990 and was ordained in May of that year for service within the Archdiocese of Vancouver.  He subsequently completed the program of studies for a National Certificate in Youth Ministry Studies and a Diploma for Advanced Studies in Ministry (1997) before completing the Doctor of Ministry program at Trinity Western University (2007).  In December of that year, he was named a Prelate of Honor by His Holiness, Benedict XVI in recognition of his work within the Archdiocese of Vancouver.

At the time of his episcopal appointment, then-Monsignor Hagemoen was serving as President of Corpus Cristi and Saint Mark's Colleges in Vancouver.  He also held prior responsibilities as Vicar of Pastoral Services and Moderator of the Curia for the Archdiocese of Vancouver.  He has continued to serve on a number of Archdiocesan committees as well as school boards, including the College of Consultors of the Archdiocese of Vancouver and the Archdiocesan Pastoral Council.  HE is a member of the Board of Directors of the Centre for Ministry Development at the Vancouver College, of which he is also an alumnus, and the Little Flower Academy High School located in Vancouver.

The See of Mackenzie-Fort Smith has been Vacant since December 6, 2012 when Pope Benedict XVI transferred His Excellency, Murray Chatlain from that responsibility to the Archdiocese of Keewatin-Le Pas.  At the time, Archbishop Chatlain was also named Apostolic Administrator of the Diocese of Mackenzie-Fort Smith, a position he ceased to hold as of October 15 of this year.


Not long after his first Canadian episcopal appointment, His Holiness also named a new Archbishop for Winnipeg (Manitoba).  On Monday, October 28 of this year, the Holy Father accepted the resignation offered by His Excellency, James Vernon Weisgerber, who had served as Archbishop of Winnipeg since June 7, 2000.  Having reached his 75th birthday on May 1 of this year, Archbishop Weisgerber had submitted his resignation from the pastoral governance of the See of Winnipeg, and only a few months later, his successor has been named in the person of the Most Reverend Richard Gagnon, who has most recently been serving as Bishop of Victoria (British Columbia).

Born in 1948 in Lethbridge, Alberta, Archbishop-elect Gagnon studied philosophy, history and English at Simon Fraser University in Vancouver, and also earned a teaching certificate there.  After his seminary studies at the Pontifical Beda College in Rome, he was ordained in 1983 for the Archdiocese of Vancouver.  He served within that Archdiocese for many years as pastor, as Vicar General and as one of the Archdiocesan Consultors, as well as in the capacity of Director of the Office for Religious Education and as a member of the Presbyteral Council..  He has been serving as Bishop of Victoria since 2004.

The see of Victoria now stands vacant awaiting the appointment of its new shepherd.

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