Vernon James Weisgerber (born May 1, 1938) is a Canadian prelate of the Roman Catholic Church. He is the retired sixth

Archbishop of Winnipeg The Archdiocese of Winnipeg ( la, Archidioecesis Vinnipegensis) is a Latin Church ecclesiastical territory or archdiocese of the Catholic Church that includes part of the Province of Manitoba, Canada. The archdiocese is the only diocese of the La ...

, serving from August 2000 until October 2013.

Early life and education

Weisgerber was born in Vibank, Saskatchewan, to Jack and Catherine Weisgerber. Following his schooling at Vibank, he attended

St. Peter's College St, St. or Saint Peter's College may refer to: Places of education sorted by location Australia *St Peter's Catholic College, Tuggerah, New South Wales * St Peter's College, Adelaide, South Australia * St Peters Lutheran College, Brisbane, Queensl ...

at Muenster and then St. Paul's University in

Ottawa Ottawa (, ; Canadian French: ) is the capital city of Canada. It is located at the confluence of the Ottawa River and the Rideau River in the southern portion of the province of Ontario. Ottawa borders Gatineau, Quebec, and forms the core ...

, where he obtained licence degrees in

Philosophy Philosophy (from , ) is the systematized study of general and fundamental questions, such as those about existence, reason, knowledge, values, mind, and language. Such questions are often posed as problems to be studied or resolved. Some ...

and Theology.

Priesthood

He was ordained a priest at Holy Rosary Cathedral in Regina on June 1, 1963, and named a Prelate of Honour on October 16, 1991. Weisgerber was Dean of Arts at Notre Dame College in Wilcox, where he taught philosophy, religious studies, and

French French (french: français(e), link=no) may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to France ** French language, which originated in France, and its various dialects and accents ** French people, a nation and ethnic group identified with Franc ...

. He worked several years in the

Archbishop of Regina The Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Regina ( la, Archidioecesis Reginatensis) is a Roman Catholic archdiocese comprising the southern part of the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian province of Saskatchewan, as far north as the 30th townsh ...

's office serving as the director of the pastoral and social justice offices. He served as

Rector Rector (Latin for the member of a vessel's crew who steers) may refer to: Style or title *Rector (ecclesiastical), a cleric who functions as an administrative leader in some Christian denominations *Rector (academia), a senior official in an edu ...

of Holy Rosary Cathedral and Pastor o
Holy Trinity Parish
both in Regina, as well as in Fort Qu'Appelle, which included pastoral ministry with neighboring

aboriginal Aborigine, aborigine or aboriginal may refer to: *Aborigines (mythology), in Roman mythology * Indigenous peoples, general term for ethnic groups who are the earliest known inhabitants of an area *One of several groups of indigenous peoples, see ...

communities. In 1990 he was elected General Secretary of the Canadian Conference of Catholic Bishops.

Episcopal career

On March 7, 1996, Weisgerber was appointed the fifth Bishop of Saskatoon by Pope John Paul II. He received his episcopal consecration on the following May 3 from Archbishop

Peter Mallon Peter Joseph Mallon (December 5, 1929 – February 3, 2007) was an archbishop in the Archdiocese of Regina from June 9, 1995, until his retirement on March 30, 2005. He retired in 2005, at the age of 75, due to the Roman Catholic Roman or ...

, with Archbishop

Joseph MacNeil Joseph Neil MacNeil (April 15, 1924 – February 11, 2018) was a Canadian prelate of the Catholic Church. MacNeil was born in Sydney, Nova Scotia, and was ordained a priest on May 23, 1948. MacNeil was appointed bishop of the Diocese of Saint J ...

and Bishop Joseph MacDonald serving as

co-consecrators A consecrator is a bishop who ordains someone to the episcopacy. A co-consecrator is someone who assists the consecrator bishop in the act of ordaining a new bishop. The terms are used in the canon law of the Catholic Church, Lutheran Churches, ...

. Weisgerber was later named the sixth

on June 7, 2000. He succeeded

Leonard James Wall Leonard or ''Leo'' is a common English masculine given name and a surname. The given name and surname originate from the Old High German ''Leonhard'' containing the prefix ''levon'' ("lion") from the Greek Λέων ("lion") through the Latin '' ...

, and was installed at St. Mary’s Cathedral on August 24, 2000. In 2005, he received the Saskatchewan Order of Merit. In 2013, he was made an Officer of the Order of Canada "for his work as a champion of reconciliation and social justice, promoting deeper understanding between Aboriginal and non-Aboriginal people".

References

Catholic-Hierarchy.orgArchdiocese of Winnipeg
{{DEFAULTSORT:Weisgerber, James 1938 births Living people 21st-century Roman Catholic archbishops in Canada Members of the Saskatchewan Order of Merit Officers of the Order of Canada People from Vibank, Saskatchewan Roman Catholic archbishops of Winnipeg Roman Catholic bishops of Saskatoon