Friday, November 27, 2015

A new bishop for Whitehorse

This morning, the Holy Father, Pope Francis has named a new Bishop for the Diocese of Whitehorse (Northwest Territories, Canada).  The new shepherd for the people of Whitehorse is Bishop-elect Héctor Filipe Vila, who until now has been serving as Rector of the Redemptoris Mater Seminary for candidates to the priesthood who are part of the Neocatecumenal Way.

The See of Whitehorse has been vacant since the transferral of His Excellency, Gary Michael Gordon to the Diocese of Victoria (British Columbia, Canada) on June 14, 2014.


Most Reverend Héctor Filipe Vila
Bishop-elect of Whitehorse

Father Héctor Vila was born in Lima (Perú) on September 17, 1962.  In Lima, he completed primary studies and most of his secondary school studies as well.  At the age of 17 years, in 1979, together with his father, he emigrated to Canada, where he completed his secondary studies at Emery Collegiate Institute in Toronto.  He then undertook University studies in mechanical engineering at George Brown College in Toronto, completing the requirements for a diploma in 1986.  He was then hired as an assistant at Missal Tooling Limited.

In 1987, he began to attend the Neocatecumenal Way and one year later, he began Philosophy and Theology studies at the University of Toronto, which he eventually continued at the Redemptoris Mater Seminary in Rome (1989-1995).

He was ordained a priest on May 14, 1995 by Pope Saint John Paul II and incardinated in Rome.

After ordination, he was entrusted with the following pastoral responsibilities:
1995-1998 - Pastoral minister at the Roman parishes of Saint Irenaeus and Saint Patrick;
1999 - for a few months, he served as Administrator of the parish of Saint Norbert in Toronto;
2000 - Rector of the Redemptoris Mater Seminary in Toronto.

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