Canadian archbishop and Indigenous language scholar appointed to Winnipeg Archdiocese

CNA Staff, Jan 6, 2025 / 15:50 pm

Pope Francis has appointed Archbishop Murray Chatlain of Keewatin-Le Pas as the new archbishop of Winnipeg, Canada. 

Chatlain, a student of the Indigenous Dene language, succeeds Archbishop Richard J. Gagnon, 76, who led the Winnipeg Archdiocese since 2013 and who submitted his resignation to Pope Francis at the customary age of 75.

Chatlain was born in 1963 in Saskatoon, Saskatchewan. He was awarded a bachelor of arts degree in philosophy from the University of Saskatchewan and a master of divinity degree from St. Peter’s Seminary in London, Ontario. He was ordained a priest on May 15, 1987, for the Diocese of Saskatoon.

After various pastoral assignments, Chatlain was appointed coadjutor bishop of the Diocese of MacKenzie-Fort Smith in 2007 and was consecrated a bishop the following May, in 2008. He was appointed metropolitan archbishop of Keewatin-Le Pas, a large and sparsely populated archdiocese covering parts of northern Saskatchewan, Manitoba, and a small corner of northwest Ontario, in December 2012.

According to the Canadian bishops’ conference, Chatlain “was instrumental in the pastoral outreach to Indigenous communities in the north.” His “commitment to linguistic and cultural immersion” led him to study the Indigenous Dene language at La Loche, Saskatchewan, from 2000 to 2001.

According to the B.C. Catholic, Chatlain has also served as a representative on the Canadian Catholic Aboriginal Council, addressing the pastoral needs of Indigenous communities, as well as on the Episcopal Commission for Justice and Peace. In 2020, he was elected president of the Assembly of Western Catholic Bishops.

The Archdiocese of Winnipeg, based in the capital of the province of Manitoba, serves a Catholic population of over 162,000 in 88 parishes and missions.