Special ceremony to be held for new archbishop of Vancouver

Vancouver, Canada, Jan 7, 2009 / 23:50 pm

Pope Benedict XVI last Friday accepted the resignation of Archbishop of Vancouver Raymond Roussin, S.M. who has been succeeded by Coadjutor Archbishop J. Michael Miller, C.S.B.

Although coadjutor bishops do not normally have any ceremony to mark their taking office, Archbishop Miller’s succession will be marked by a special Mass on the Solemnity of the Conversion of Paul. The Mass will be held on Sunday, January 25 at 3:00 p.m. at Vancouver’s Our Lady of the Holy Rosary Cathedral.

During the Mass, Archbishop Luigi Ventura, Apostolic Nuncio to Canada, will bring greetings to Archbishop Miller, Archbishop Roussin and the faithful of the Archdiocese of Vancouver.

The 69-year-old Archbishop Roussin announced his retirement last Friday, citing an ongoing battle with depression, the Associated Press reports.

For bishops, normal retirement age is 75.

“I believe my call is from God and to be a bishop, to be a pastor. I was unable to do it,” he told the Canadian Press, saying he has suffered from depression for several years.

Archbishop Roussin took office in 2004. One year later, he disclosed his illness in a letter to Catholics in Vancouver, explaining that he wanted to help remove any stigma “wrongly” associated with the disease.

“It was a time that I just couldn't see clearly what I had done that was good, and I could not see anything clearly possible for the future. (I went public) to show it was not the destruction of my life, although it could have been,” Archbishop Roussin said.

The Archdiocese of Vancouver ministers to an estimated 500,000 Catholics.