Bishops moving and retiring

The Holy Father has named Archbishop J. Michael Miller, up to now Secretary of the Congregation for Catholic Education, as Coadjutor Archbishop of Vancouver, British Columbia (Canada). Archbishop Miller was born in Ottawa in 1946 and entered the Congregation of St. Basil in 1965. He received his Bachelor’s of Arts at the University of Toronto in 1969 and Master of Arts at the University of Wisconsin in 1970, specializing in Latin American studies. In 1974 he received his bachelor’s in Theology from St. Michaels’ College of the University of Toronto. He was ordained a priest June 29, 1975 by Pope Paul VI at St. Peter’s Basilica. In 1976 he received his license in Dogmatic Theology summa cum laude from the Pontifical Gregorian University and completed Doctorate in Theology (also summa cum laude) in 1979. From 1979 to 1990 he was Professor of Dogmatic Theology at the University of St. Thomas in Houston, Texas. He then served as Vice President for Academic Affairs (1990- 1992) and later as President of the University (1997-2004). From 1992 to 1997 he worked in the English-speaking section of the Holy See’s Secretariat of State. From 1994 to 1996 he also served as Adjunct Professor of Theology at the Gregorian. In November 2003 he was named Secretary of the Congregation for Catholic Education and was consecrated in January 2004. He has also been a member of the Pontifical Council for the Pastoral Care of Migrants and Itinerant Peoples, a member of the Pontifical Committee for International Eucharistic Congresses and a Consultor for the Congregation for Bishops. He knows English, French, Italian and Spanish.

The Holy Father has named as the new Archbishop of Kingston, Ontario (Canada) Archbishop Brendan Michael O’Brien, up to now Archbishop of St. John’s, Newfoundland. Archbishop O’Brien was born in Ottawa in 1943 and was ordained a priest for the Archdiocese of Ottawa in 1968. He served in pastoral ministry and various diocesan assignments. He was made an auxiliary bishop for Ottawa in 1987, Bishop of the Diocese of Pembroke in 1993, and Archbishop of St. John’s in 2000.


The Holy Father has accepted the resignation of Bishop Severian Stefan Yakymyshyn, O.S.B.M., from the pastoral care of the Eparchy of New Westminster of the Ukrainians (Canada). He has named as his replacement Father Kenneth Nowakowski, currently Chancellor of the Eparchy of Saskatoon of the Ukrainians. Bishop-elect Nowakowski was born in 1958 in North Battleford, Saskatchewan. He studied philosophy and religious science in Toronto and studied for his bachelor’s in theology from the University of St. Thomas Aquinas in Rome 1986-1989. He was ordained a priest August 19, 1989 for the Eparchy of Saskatoon. He returned to Rome to study canon law at the Pontifical Oriental Institute. While there, he founded and directed in Italy the Ukrainian Catholic Refugee Office. In 1991, he followed Cardinal Myroslaw Lubachivsky to Lviv where he worked in the Chancery as Vice-Chancellor and Head of the Office. From 1991 to 1992 he served as Vice Rector of Lviv’s Holy Spirit seminary. In 1994 he participated in the founding of Caritas Ucraina and served as its Vice President. He returned to Canada in 2001, serving as rector of Ottawa’s Holy Spirit seminary and working on preparations for the 2002 World Youth Day in Toronto. He was made Chancellor of the Eparchy of Saskatoon in 2006.

The Holy Father has also accepted the retirement of Bishop Matthew Francis Ustrzycki as Auxiliary Bishop of Hamilton, Ontario (Canada) and Bishop Gilbert E. Chavez as Auxiliary Bishop of San Diego, California (USA).