Gérald Lacroix
Encyclopedia
Gérald Cyprien Lacroix, ISPX (born 27 July 1957) is the current archbishop of Quebec
and primate of Canada since his appointment by Pope Benedict XVI
on 22 February 2011. He had previously served as Auxiliary Bishop of Quebec.
Lacroix was born in 1957 in Saint-Hilaire de Dorset in the Archdiocese of Quebec, and completed his secondary and higher education at Trinity High School and Saint Anselm College
in Manchester, New Hampshire
. He then studied for his theological training at the University of Laval, obtaining a BA in Theology he continued with a master's degree in pastoral theology. In 1975 he was accepted at the Pius X
Secular Institute and took perpetual vows in 1982.
In 1982 he became Secretary General of the Institute and, since 1985 has been Director of the General Council. From 1985 to 1987 he was appointed general manager of the Institute's Christian formation and spiritual centre. He was ordained priest on 8 October 1988 by Archbishop Maurice Couture
, R.S.V. in the Parish of Notre-Dame-de-la-Recouvrance.
From 1990 to 2000 he worked in Colombia
, where he opened new houses of the Institute. From 2001 to 2004 he was Director General of the Institute, and reelected for five years from 2005 to 2010.
He was appointed Titular Bishop
of Ilta and Auxiliary Bishop of Quebec on 7 April 2009 and received episcopal ordination on 24 May with Cardinal Marc Ouellet as principal consecrator, the principal co-consecrators being Archbishop Maurice Couture, R.S.V. and Bishop Gilles Lemay.
On 22 February 2011 Bishop Lacroix was appointed Archbishop of Quebec and Primate of Canada replacing Cardinal Ouellet, who had been appointed Prefect of the Congregation for Bishops
on 30 June 2010. During the sede vacante
Bishop Lacroix was elected diocesan administrator by the College of Consultors. He is currently one of the co-chairmen of the Committee on Life and Family of the Canadian Conference of Catholic Bishops. After his appointment, Lacroix said that he would continue the work of Cardinal Ouellet and "re-evangelize" the province. Lacroix noted that he favours a discussion-based approach. "I'm going to be different. One thing is certain: I will preach the gospel. If people expect something else, they'll be disappointed," he said.
Archbishop Lacroix received an Honorary Doctorate in Divinity from Saint Anselm College
at the college's 118th commencement exercises held on May 21, 2011. He was also the commencement speaker.
He received the pallium
from Pope Benedict on 29 June 2011, the Feast of SS Peter and Paul in Rome along with all other metropolitan archbishops appointed since 2010.
Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Quebec
The Archdiocese of Québec is the oldest Catholic see in the New World north of Mexico. The archdiocese was founded as the Apostolic Vicariate of New France in 1658 and was elevated to a Diocese in 1674 and an Archdiocese in 1819...
and primate of Canada since his appointment by Pope Benedict XVI
Pope Benedict XVI
Benedict XVI is the 265th and current Pope, by virtue of his office of Bishop of Rome, the Sovereign of the Vatican City State and the leader of the Catholic Church as well as the other 22 sui iuris Eastern Catholic Churches in full communion with the Holy See...
on 22 February 2011. He had previously served as Auxiliary Bishop of Quebec.
Lacroix was born in 1957 in Saint-Hilaire de Dorset in the Archdiocese of Quebec, and completed his secondary and higher education at Trinity High School and Saint Anselm College
Saint Anselm College
Saint Anselm College is a nationally ranked, private, Benedictine, Catholic liberal arts college in Goffstown, New Hampshire. Founded in 1889 by Abbot Hilary Pfrängle, O.S.B. of Saint Mary's Abbey in Newark, New Jersey, at the request of Bishop Denis M. Bradley of Manchester, New Hampshire, the...
in Manchester, New Hampshire
Manchester, New Hampshire
Manchester is the largest city in the U.S. state of New Hampshire, the tenth largest city in New England, and the largest city in northern New England, an area comprising the states of Maine, New Hampshire, and Vermont. It is in Hillsborough County along the banks of the Merrimack River, which...
. He then studied for his theological training at the University of Laval, obtaining a BA in Theology he continued with a master's degree in pastoral theology. In 1975 he was accepted at the Pius X
Pope Pius X
Pope Saint Pius X , born Giuseppe Melchiorre Sarto, was the 257th Pope of the Catholic Church, serving from 1903 to 1914. He was the first pope since Pope Pius V to be canonized. Pius X rejected modernist interpretations of Catholic doctrine, promoting traditional devotional practices and orthodox...
Secular Institute and took perpetual vows in 1982.
In 1982 he became Secretary General of the Institute and, since 1985 has been Director of the General Council. From 1985 to 1987 he was appointed general manager of the Institute's Christian formation and spiritual centre. He was ordained priest on 8 October 1988 by Archbishop Maurice Couture
Maurice Couture
Maurice Couture, is a Canadian Archbishop Emeritus and the former Archbishop of Québec.Born in Saint-Pierre-de-Broughton, Quebec, he was ordained a priest in 1951. He was appointed Archbishop of Quebec in 1990 and retired in 2002...
, R.S.V. in the Parish of Notre-Dame-de-la-Recouvrance.
From 1990 to 2000 he worked in Colombia
Colombia
Colombia, officially the Republic of Colombia , is a unitary constitutional republic comprising thirty-two departments. The country is located in northwestern South America, bordered to the east by Venezuela and Brazil; to the south by Ecuador and Peru; to the north by the Caribbean Sea; to the...
, where he opened new houses of the Institute. From 2001 to 2004 he was Director General of the Institute, and reelected for five years from 2005 to 2010.
He was appointed Titular Bishop
Titular bishop
A titular bishop in various churches is a bishop who is not in charge of a diocese.By definition a bishop is an "overseer" of a community of the faithful, so when a priest is ordained a bishop the tradition of the Roman Catholic and Orthodox churches is that he be ordained for a specific place...
of Ilta and Auxiliary Bishop of Quebec on 7 April 2009 and received episcopal ordination on 24 May with Cardinal Marc Ouellet as principal consecrator, the principal co-consecrators being Archbishop Maurice Couture, R.S.V. and Bishop Gilles Lemay.
On 22 February 2011 Bishop Lacroix was appointed Archbishop of Quebec and Primate of Canada replacing Cardinal Ouellet, who had been appointed Prefect of the Congregation for Bishops
Congregation for Bishops
The Congregation for Bishops is the congregation of the Roman Curia which oversees the selection of new bishops that are not in mission territories or those areas that come under the jurisdiction of the Congregation for the Oriental Churches who deal with the Eastern Catholics, pending papal...
on 30 June 2010. During the sede vacante
Sede vacante
Sede vacante is an expression, used in the Canon Law of the Catholic Church, that refers to the vacancy of the episcopal see of a particular church...
Bishop Lacroix was elected diocesan administrator by the College of Consultors. He is currently one of the co-chairmen of the Committee on Life and Family of the Canadian Conference of Catholic Bishops. After his appointment, Lacroix said that he would continue the work of Cardinal Ouellet and "re-evangelize" the province. Lacroix noted that he favours a discussion-based approach. "I'm going to be different. One thing is certain: I will preach the gospel. If people expect something else, they'll be disappointed," he said.
Archbishop Lacroix received an Honorary Doctorate in Divinity from Saint Anselm College
Saint Anselm College
Saint Anselm College is a nationally ranked, private, Benedictine, Catholic liberal arts college in Goffstown, New Hampshire. Founded in 1889 by Abbot Hilary Pfrängle, O.S.B. of Saint Mary's Abbey in Newark, New Jersey, at the request of Bishop Denis M. Bradley of Manchester, New Hampshire, the...
at the college's 118th commencement exercises held on May 21, 2011. He was also the commencement speaker.
He received the pallium
Pallium
The pallium is an ecclesiastical vestment in the Roman Catholic Church, originally peculiar to the Pope, but for many centuries bestowed by him on metropolitans and primates as a symbol of the jurisdiction delegated to them by the Holy See. In that context it has always remained unambiguously...
from Pope Benedict on 29 June 2011, the Feast of SS Peter and Paul in Rome along with all other metropolitan archbishops appointed since 2010.