Archbishop Prendergast Named Apostolic Administrator of the Diocese of Hearst Moosonee

Today Pope Francis appointed Archbishop Terrence Prendergast the Apostolic Administrator of the Diocese of Hearst-Moosonee following the resignation of Bishop Robert Bourgon. As Apostolic Administrator, Archbishop Prendergast will oversee the Diocese until a new Bishop can be provided to lead the church in Hearst-Mossonee.

Archbishop Prendergast is set to retire as Archbishop of Ottawa-Cornwall on Thursday, December 3rd following a Mass to mark the Silver Jubilee of his ordination as a bishop. However, it is with a sense of service that he takes up this new role.

“The Holy Father has invited me to take on this short-term responsibility as Apostolic Administrator of the largest diocese in Ontario and a suffragan diocese of the Ottawa-Cornwall Ecclesiastical Province. I will strive to do my best in preparing the Diocese to receive a new Bishop in 2021. I intend to divide my time in the next several months, alternating trips to Hearst-Moosonee with time in Ottawa. I ask for prayers for the successful completion of this new mission.”
Hearst-Moosonee, located in the north eastern part of Ontario, is a small diocese comprising just over 27,000 Catholics though spread out over a massive area. The diocese, which stretches from Chapleau all the way to Peawanack near Hudson Bay, includes a diversity of Indigenous, Francophone and Anglophone faith communities.