Pope appoints 3 new bishops

Kingston, Vancouver and New Westminster receive prelates

Archbishop Michael Miller

By DEBORAH GYAPONG
Canadian Catholic News
Ottawa

Pope Benedict stepped up his episcopal appointments in Canada June 1 by appointing three bishops and accepting two resignations.

Archbishop Michael Miller, 60, who has been secretary of the Vatican's Congregation for Catholic Education since 2003, will become coadjutor archbishop of Vancouver to Archbishop Raymond Roussin.

Archbishop Brendan O'Brien of St. John's, Nfld., has been appointed archbishop of Kingston, Ont.

And Father Kenneth Nowakowski was named Ukrainian Catholic eparch of New Westminster, B.C. replacing the retiring Bishop Severian Yakymyshyn.

The pope also accepted the resignation of Hamilton Auxiliary Bishop Matthew Ustrzycki, 75, who has served in the position for 22 years.

The appointments come close on the heels of recent appointments of new bishops for Edmonton, Ottawa and Saint John, N.B.

The appointments leave the St. John's and Halifax archdioceses and Pembroke, Ont., Diocese without bishops.

Archbishop Michael Miller

As coadjutor archbishop-elect, Miller will take over when Roussin, 67, retires.

Archbishop Brendan O'Brien

"It will be wonderful to finally get back home again," Miller said in a telephone interview from Rome June 4.

"To be able to be a pastor of a local church is a privilege," he said, admitting he had been surprised by the appointment.

From 1979-92, Miller, a Basilian, taught dogmatic theology at the University of St. Thomas Aquinas in Houston, Texas. From 1992 to 1997, he worked at the Vatican Secretariat of State before returning to St. Thomas Aquinas as president.

Some news stories have focused on Roussin's public battle with depression two years ago. He now regards himself as recovered.

Archbishop Brendan O'Brien

Meanwhile, Archbishop O'Brien will head for the Kingston Archdiocese left vacant when Archbishop Anthony Meagher died in January.

"I think it's going to be a challenge and I look forward to it," he said in a telephone interview from St. John's.

The dioceses are roughly comparable in size, he said, though Kingston has 79 priests to the 49 in St. John's serving a similar number of parishes and missions.

O'Brien, 64, spent 14 of his 20 years in episcopal ministry in Ontario, first as an auxiliary bishop in Ottawa, and then as bishop of Pembroke from 1993 to 2000 when he was appointed to St. John's.

Born and raised in Ontario, O'Brien's mother and most other family members still live in the province.

Fr. Kenneth Nowakowski

O'Brien served as president of the Canadian Conference of Catholic Bishops from 2003 to 2005.

St. John's is the second archdiocese now without an archbishop, following the May 14 appointment of Halifax Archbishop Terrence Prendergast to Ottawa.

On May 7, Benedict appointed Sault Ste. Marie auxiliary Bishop Robert Harris to the Saint John Diocese vacated last September by the retirement of Bishop Faber MacDonald.

Archbishop Richard Smith, formerly of Pembroke, was appointed archbishop of Edmonton in March.

Father Kenneth Nowakowski

Nowakowski, a 49-year-old native of North Battleford, Sask., is rector of Holy Spirit Ukrainian Seminary in Ottawa and chancellor of the Saskatoon Ukrainian Catholic Eparchy.

He spent more than 10 years in Ukraine, as chief of staff to the head of the Ukrainian Catholic Church under two different leaders. He also founded Caritas Ukraine and served as its president.

"If this is where the Church would like me to serve, I'm dedicating my life to the Church and I want to serve where I'm needed the most," he said of his appointment as head of the B.C. eparchy.

"One of the challenges will be how to keep our eparchy feeling united and being able to be that good shepherd to people who are physically distant."

Yakymyshyn, the retiring bishop, has high praise for Nowakowski.

"He's going to be the best," said Yakymyshyn, 77.

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