Pope appoints new bishop to Canada

(Vatican Radio) Pope Benedict XVI on Friday accepted the resignation of Bishop Reynald Rouleau of the Canadian diocese of Churchill-Baie d’Hudson, in accordance with canon 401 in the Code of Canon Law, appointing Rev. Wieslaw Kròtki, O.M.I. Missionary of Igloolik, Canada, to succeed him.

Rev. Kròtki is of Polish origin, having been born in the village of Istebna, within the Diocese of Katowice on June 12, 1964. He entered minor seminary for the Missionary Oblates of the Immaculate Mary of Markowice in 1979. In 1983 he was admitted into the novitiate of the Oblates of Kodeń where he made his first religious vows five years later. Rev. Kròtki was ordained to the priesthood in 1990, and was soon after called to Canada as a missionary.

Rev. Kròtki served as a priest in several posts within the Churchill-Baie d’Hudson diocese:

1990-1993 Missionary in Igloolik;
1993-2001 Missionary in Gjoa Haven;
1996-1999 Assistant to the superior general for the Oblate Delegation of Hudson Bay;
1999-2005 Superior of the Oblate Delegation of Hudson Bay;
2001-2013 Missionary in Igloolik.

The diocese of Churchill-Baie d’Hudson is within the archdiocese of Keewatin-Le Pas. It covers 2,3000,000 kilometres of land and has a population of some 32,090, of which 8,570 are Catholic. There are 16 parishes within the diocese; these are served by ten priests (seven of whom belong to the Oblates of Mary, two fidei donum, and one diocesan), two religious sisters, and three lay missionaries.