Diocesan boundaries juggled in the East

Canadian Conference
of Catholic Bishops
Ottawa

At the request of the bishops of Canada and in view of current pastoral needs, major changes have been approved for the boundaries of dioceses situated in three provinces.

The Holy See has recently published decrees modifying the boundaries of seven dioceses and suppressing an eighth, the Diocese of Labrador City-Schefferville.

The other dioceses affected are Amos, Baie-Comeau, Chicoutimi, Joliette and Trois-RiviŠres, all in Quebec; St. George's in Newfoundland; and Moosonee in Ontario.

The changes affect a total of 30 parishes and missions.

A new diocese

The Diocese of Labrador City-Schefferville always encompassed territory in both Newfoundland and Quebec. This recent reorganization has resulted in the formation of a new diocese, the Diocese of Corner Brook and Labrador.

The new diocese will comprise all parishes and missions in the present Diocese of St. George's on the Island of Newfoundland in addition to those in the territory of Labrador, until now part of the Diocese of Labrador City-Schefferville.

Those parishes and missions in Quebec which until now have been in the Diocese of Labrador City-Schefferville will be transferred either to the Diocese of Amos or to the Diocese of Baie-Comeau.

Amos has grown

The episcopal see of the new diocese will be in the City of Corner Brook, and the present Cathedral of the Most Holy Redeemer and the Immaculate Conception will remain the cathedral church.

Bishop Douglas Crosby, who for some years has been bishop of both Labrador City-Schefferville and St. George's, becomes the first bishop of Corner Brook and Labrador.

With the change to its boundaries, the territory of the Diocese of Amos has grown considerably. The diocese now includes the Quebec region of Nunavik that used to be part of Labrador City-Schefferville.

As well, the diocese has been given responsibility for those communities in Quebec that until now have been part of the Diocese of Moosonee.

Limits to Moosonee

Until this change, the Diocese of Moosonee has had a vast territory that encompassed parts of both Ontario and Quebec. With this adjustment of boundaries, only the parishes and missions in Ontario will form the Diocese of Moosonee.

One parish and two missions that have been within the Diocese of Amos have been moved to either the Diocese of Trois-RiviŠres, the Diocese of Chicoutimi or the Diocese of Joliette.

The lower North Shore of the Saint Lawrence River as well as the Schefferville areas of the former Diocese of Labrador City-Schefferville will now form part of the Diocese of Baie-Comeau.

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