The bishop of a Roman Catholic diocese in southern Ontario has unexpectedly resigned from his post. Bishop James Wingle, who led the Diocese of St. Catharines since 2002, submitted his resignation to Pope Benedict XVI.
It was accepted Wednesday morning and was effective immediately. Wingle, 63, provided no specific reason for his resignation.
In a letter to parishioners, posted on the diocese website, Wingle wrote that he decided to resign after much prayer and reflection. He said it is not easy to leave the people he has come to "love and cherish."
"The duties of the office of a diocesan bishop call for vigorous stamina to meet the challenges of leadership," he wrote. "I am no longer able to maintain the necessary stamina to fulfill properly my duties.
"It has been a privilege and a blessing to have served with you," he added. "If my shortcomings and limitations have caused any disappointment, I ask for God's mercy and your understanding. I pray that the work we have accomplished in the service of the Lord and his church will bear much fruit, now and in the years to come. "
Wingle worked for the Ontario Attorney General's office for five years in the 1970s before becoming an ordained priest for the diocese of Pembroke in Eganville, Ont. in 1977.
In 1993, he was named bishop of Yarmouth, N.S., and he served in that province until he moved to St. Catharines on Jan. 24, 2002.
Those who knew Wingle said the resignation came as a shock.
"There was no mention … This came as a surprise to us all," said Msgr. Wayne Kirkpatrick of the St. Catharines diocese. "We're surmising from that that it is a matter of illness, but we don't know.
Kirkpatrick said the next step for the diocese is to elect an administrator until a new bishop is appointed, which could take months or longer.
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SIC: CBC