New Bishops appointed for Mont-Laurier and Trois-Rivières

Mont-Laurier

Bishop Vital Massé was ordained a priest of the Diocese of Joliette on May 26, 1962.  He obtained a doctorate in theology in Rome and then taught at the Séminaire de Joliette, as well as serving with the Joliette Diocesan Centre and as pastor for two parishes. He was named Auxiliary Bishop of Saint-Jérôme in 1993, where he served until his nomination as Bishop of Mont-Laurier on September 8, 2001.  Bishop Massé has assisted the Canadian Conference of Catholic Bishops (CCCB) as a member of a number of its Episcopal Commissions.  Since 2008 he has been a member of the French Sector committee for the broadcasting of liturgical celebrations.

At the time of his appointment to the Diocese of Mont-Laurier, Bishop Paul Lortie was Auxiliary Bishop of Quebec City.  Born on March 17, 1944, in Beauport, Quebec, he studied at the Grand Séminaire of Quebec City where he obtained a licentiate in theology. Ordained on May 16, 1970, he was appointed to the Séminaire du Sacré-Coeur in Saint-Victor de Beauce, Quebec, where he served until 1972 when he left to pursue further studies at the Institut de catéchèse de Paris and at Laval University, Quebec City. From 1976 on, he worked mainly in education, first in the Archdiocese of Quebec City, then for the Quebec Assembly of Catholic Bishops from 1983 to 1989.  He has held many responsibilities with the Quebec City archdiocesan offices, including directing its offices for vocations, religious, and parishes. From 1995 to 2008 he was pastor for a number of parishes in the regions of Portneuf and Deschambault as well as in Quebec City. Since March 2008 he has been Episcopal Vicar for the four pastoral regions south of the Saint Lawrence River. He was named Auxiliary Bishop of Quebec City on April 7, 2009. He is currently a member of the CCCB Standing Committee for Communications.

The Diocese of Mont-Laurier has 19 parishes and missions, with a Catholic population of 77,340, served by 24 diocesan priests, six priests who are members of religious communities, 28 Religious Sisters and Brothers, two permanent deacons and 17 lay pastoral assistants.

Trois-Rivières
Bishop Martin Veillette was ordained to the priesthood on June 12, 1960. He was named director of vocations and of the clergy for the Diocese of Trois-Rivières and then Rector of the Grand Séminaire de Trois-Rivières, a post he held until his nomination as Auxiliary Bishop of Trois-Rivières in 1986.  In November 1996, he was named Bishop of Trois-Rivières. Bishop Veillette has assisted the CCCB as a member of a number of its Episcopal Commissions, including as Chairman of the former French Sector Commission for Social Communications and, more recently, as Chairman of the Commission for Christian Unity, Religious Relations with the Jews, and Interfaith Dialogue. From 2008 to 2011, he was the President of the Assembly of Quebec Catholic Bishops.

Bishop Luc Bouchard, at the time of his appointment to the Diocese of Trois-Rivières, was Bishop of Saint-Paul. He was born in 1949 in Cornwall, Ontario.  Ordained to the priesthood in 1976, he studied Scripture in Rome and Jerusalem, then served in a number of parishes in the Diocese of Alexandria-Cornwall, and taught at the Grand Séminaire de Montréal and Saint Joseph Seminary in Edmonton.  He was Rector of Saint Joseph Seminary when he was named Bishop of Saint-Paul on September 8, 2001.  Bishop Bouchard has assisted the CCCB as a member of its Permanent Council and on a number of its Commissions, including the former Commission for Theology, of which he was Chairman. In 2008, he was a CCCB delegate to the Synod of Bishops, and is currently a member of the CCCB Commission for Doctrine.

The Diocese of Trois-Rivières has 67 parishes and missions, with a Catholic population of 232,985, served by 93 diocesan priests, 67 priests who are members of religious communities, 469 Religious Sisters and Brothers, 31 permanent deacons and 45 lay pastoral assistants.