His Holiness Pope Benedict XVI today accepted the resignation of the Most Reverend Roger Ébacher and named the Most Reverend Paul-André Durocher as Archbishop of Gatineau.
At the time of his appointment, Archbishop Durocher was Bishop of Alexandria-Cornwall.
Archbishop Ébacher had been responsible for the Archdiocese of Gatineau for 23 years. He had offered his resignation after becoming 75 years old, as stipulated by the Code of Canon Law.
Bishop Durocher was born on May 28, 1954, in Windsor, Ontario. He was ordained to the priesthood on July 2, 1982, for the Diocese of Timmins and appointed Auxiliary Bishop of Sault Ste. Marie on January 20, 1997. On April 26, 2002, he was appointed Bishop of Alexandria-Cornwall.
He entered Saint Paul's Seminary in Ottawa where he earned two degrees in theology, a Bachelor's in 1981 and a Master's in 1985. He also completed a Bachelor of Education at the University of Ottawa in 1980. In 1982, he completed a civil licentiate in canon law from the University of Strasbourg in France, and in 1996 earned a licentiate in theology from the Pontifical Gregorian University in Rome.
Archbishop-elect Durocher serves on the Executive Committee of the Canadian Conference of Catholic Bishops (CCCB) as its current Co-Treasurer. He is also a member of its French Sector Episcopal Commission for Liturgy and the Sacraments.
The Archdiocese of Gatineau has 53 parishes and missions, with a Catholic population of 256,800, which is served by 45 diocesan priests, 25 priests who are members of religious communities, 183 Religious Sisters and Brothers, one permanent deacon and 18 lay pastoral assistants.
Bishop Durocher must take up his new pastoral office within the next two months.
Meanwhile, he remains administrator of the Diocese of Alexandria-Cornwall.
The date of the inauguration of his pastoral ministry in Gatineau has yet to be determined.