Pastoral Appointments dated Feb 10th 2025

Archbishop Guy Desrochers, C.Ss.R., announces the following pastoral appointments, as well as certain pastoral changes or initiatives that take effect immediately:

1. Fr. Jean-Guy Dallaire recently submitted his resignation as Vicar General of our archdiocese. For his many years of service and tireless dedication as Vicar General of the archdiocese, we wish to thank him warmly for having been a true leaven of unity among us and a remarkable man of God, because he has always known how to set ablaze the hearts of those who cross his path. He is, and doubtless always will be, an authentic witness of God’s love and presence in our midst, for all the priests and deacons, as well as for all the faithful of our archdiocese. Thank you, Father Jean-Guy, for what you have been and for what you will always be for us!

2. Following a non-binding vote held in recent weeks among the priests, with a view to a recommendation to the Archbishop for choosing the next Vicar General, Fr. Pyritho Marcelin, C.S.C., received the greatest number of votes and has generously agreed to take on the task of Vicar General of the Archdiocese of Moncton for the next six (6) years. We wish to sincerely thank him for having agreed to play this role and provide this important service for our local Church, and we assure him of our prayers and our unwavering fraternal support.

3. As of today, the Notre-Dame-de-l’Acadie parish is now part of the John Paul II Pastoral Unit. The two entities met recently and have already determined how they will work together from now on, combining some of their resources and eventually entrusting the chaplaincy of the Université de Moncton to one of the pastors of the Pastoral Unit.

4. Fr. Stanislas Grébélé Oyourou, current administrator of the Notre-Dame-de-l’Acadie parish and chaplain of the university chapel, is currently on sick leave for an indefinite period. He must undergo medical tests, and we will know more about his state of health in the coming months. The John Paul II Pastoral Unit is covering for him in the meantime, with the help of the retired bishops and priests who live in the Greater Moncton area.

5. Fr. Robert Savoie has unfortunately had to resign from active ministry in the Providence Pastoral Unit for health reasons. He now lives in the seniors’ home in Moncton. He will continue, as much as possible, to provide services in the region. We sincerely thank him for all his years of service since his ordination, and for all the good he accomplished during his years of service in our archdiocese. We assure him of our prayers and our fraternal support.

6. Fr. Arthur Bourgeois is appointed administrator and moderator of the Providence Unit (Shediac, Scoudouc, and Grande-Digue), replacing Fr. Robert Savoie. We are already in discussions with leaders of religious communities and foreign bishops in order to eventually entrust this task to a priest who will be able to take over from Fr. Arthur. More to follow.

7. Fr. Charles Cyrille Lokoka has just flown to the Eternal City (Rome), having left this past February 2. He will be away from our archdiocese for the next three years to undertake doctoral studies in Canon Law. He has just completed his master’s degree in Canon Law at Saint Paul University, and they strongly encouraged him to pursue a doctoral program, in order to better serve the Church in the near future. We wish him every success in his doctoral studies and accompany him with our prayers.

8. Fr. Angus Johnston, Episcopal Vicar of the English-speaking deanery, will henceforth represent all of the clergy in accompanying and supporting Ms. Dianne Léger (French-speaking side) and Mr. Trevor Droesbeck (English-speaking side) in their role as leaders of diocesan catechesis. Together, they will take steps, with a committee of catechists, to develop and establish a new diocesan catechetical program that is easier for young people and their parents to understand and digest, more uniform and more in keeping with the teachings that the Catholic Church gives us in its recent “Directory for Catechesis,” published on June 25, 2020, by the Pontifical Council for Promoting the New Evangelization.

9. Deacon Armand Leblanc, accompanied by Archbishop Valéry Vienneau and possibly another layperson who may join later, is appointed head of this new committee tasked with studying and preparing a specific diocesan program for the vocational formation of candidates wishing to enter the permanent diaconate in our archdiocese.

10. Dr. Pierre-Alain Giffard, D.Th.P., (doctorate in new evangelization) who currently lives in Ottawa, is appointed president and facilitator of the new Evangelization Team that has just begun in our archdiocese. The new team is made up of twelve people, men and women, including two of our young priests and a deacon, and consists of faithful from different regions of our archdiocese, including a couple from the Diocese of Saint John. Meetings are held twice a month via the Zoom application, given the different regional origins of its members. We will soon have the chance to get to know the whole team and the many evangelization projects they plan to undertake over the coming years. More to follow.