May 6, 2020

On the feast day of Saint François de Laval, patron saint of the Bishops of Canada, Pope François made public his decision to appoint me Bishop of Pembroke.

I gave my “yes” without hesitation and wholeheartedly when the Apostolic Nuncioinformed me of the decision taken by the Holy See. Having lived more than thirty years in the Redemptorist community, I have learned to trust the decisions of my superiors when I am asked to move or take on new challenges.
I had had the opportunity to travel the roads of your beautiful region several times when I was preaching or when I celebrated ‘Evenings with Saint Anne’ in several churches to make her known and loved. And these trips have already allowed me to meet some priests, religious men and women, and laypeople living in this diocese for which I have recently been given responsibility.

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, I know that you have been waiting for a long time for the announcement of the appointment of your new Bishop. Being a native of the Gatineau Valley, I can at least reassure you that I will not feel like a stranger in your midst. I am looking forward to getting to know you and having the opportunity to fraternize with you as time goes by. But above all, I look forward to working with you, hand in hand despite COVID-19, in the great work of evangelization that the
Lord has entrusted to us, each according to his own vocation and according to the talents and riches that he has deposited in each one of us to build up his Church.

The next few weeks will be spent preparing for my insertion into my new diocese. In the near future, I’ll give you more details about the date of my official installation. Until then, I look forward to meeting you soon and to celebrate together, in a modest way no doubt, this joyful and family-friendly event. Receive my blessing †

+Guy Desrochers C.Ss.R

Bishop-Designate Diocese of Pembroke