The Military Ordinariate of Canada (french: Ordinariat militaire du Canada, la, Ordinariatus Militaris Canadensis) is a

Latin Church , native_name_lang = la , image = San Giovanni in Laterano - Rome.jpg , imagewidth = 250px , alt = Façade of the Archbasilica of St. John in Lateran , caption = Archbasilica of Saint Joh ...

military ordinariate A military ordinariate is an ecclesiastical jurisdiction of the Catholic Church, of the Latin or an Eastern church, responsible for the pastoral care of Catholics serving in the armed forces of a nation. Until 1986, they were called "military v ...

of the

Catholic Church The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.3 billion baptized Catholics worldwide . It is among the world's oldest and largest international institutions, and has played a ...

. It is immediately exempt to the

Holy See The Holy See ( lat, Sancta Sedes, ; it, Santa Sede ), also called the See of Rome, Petrine See or Apostolic See, is the jurisdiction of the Pope in his role as the bishop of Rome. It includes the apostolic episcopal see of the Diocese of Rome ...

and its Roman Congregation for Bishops. With no

cathedral A cathedral is a church that contains the '' cathedra'' () of a bishop, thus serving as the central church of a diocese, conference, or episcopate. Churches with the function of "cathedral" are usually specific to those Christian denomination ...

, the ordinariate's headquarters are at Canadian Forces Support Unit (Ottawa),

Uplands Upland or Uplands may refer to: Geography *Hill, an area of higher land, generally *Highland, an area of higher land divided into low and high points *Upland and lowland, conditional descriptions of a plain based on elevation above sea level *I ...

site - Building 469,

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 ...

Ontario Ontario ( ; ) is one of the thirteen provinces and territories of Canada.Ontario is located in the geographic eastern half of Canada, but it has historically and politically been considered to be part of Central Canada. Located in Central Ca ...

K1A 0K2. The current

episcopal Episcopal may refer to: *Of or relating to a bishop, an overseer in the Christian church *Episcopate, the see of a bishop – a diocese *Episcopal Church (disambiguation), any church with "Episcopal" in its name ** Episcopal Church (United State ...

Ordinary is Scott McCaig. The Roman Catholic Military Ordinary is a member of the ecumenical Interfaith Committee on Canadian Military Chaplaincy (ICCMC).

Statistics

Catholic chaplains provide a wide range of religious and spiritual services to Canadian Armed Forces members and their families, such as the celebration of the Sacraments, counselling and religious formation. As per 2014, it provides

pastoral care Pastoral care is an ancient model of emotional, social and spiritual support that can be found in all cultures and traditions. The term is considered inclusive of distinctly non-religious forms of support, as well as support for people from rel ...

to Roman Catholics serving in the

Canadian Forces } The Canadian Armed Forces (CAF; french: Forces armées canadiennes, ''FAC'') are the unified military forces of Canada, including sea, land, and air elements referred to as the Royal Canadian Navy, Canadian Army, and Royal Canadian Air Force. ...

and their families in 22 parishes with 37 priests (36 diocesan, 1 religious), 7 deacons and 1 lay religious brother.

History

The

military vicariate A military ordinariate is an ecclesiastical jurisdiction of the Catholic Church, of the Latin or an Eastern church, responsible for the pastoral care of Catholics serving in the armed forces of a nation. Until 1986, they were called "military v ...

of Canada was canonically erected on 17 February 1951 by

Pope Pius XII Pope Pius XII ( it, Pio XII), born Eugenio Maria Giuseppe Giovanni Pacelli (; 2 March 18769 October 1958), was head of the Catholic Church and sovereign of the Vatican City State from 2 March 1939 until his death in October 1958. Before his e ...

, but Catholic Military bishops have served the Canadian Army since 1939. The need to appoint a bishop was only felt during the

Second World War World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

, while

chaplains A chaplain is, traditionally, a cleric (such as a minister, priest, pastor, rabbi, purohit, or imam), or a lay representative of a religious tradition, attached to a secular institution (such as a hospital, prison, military unit, intelligence ...

had already been represented since the

Boer War The Second Boer War ( af, Tweede Vryheidsoorlog, , 11 October 189931 May 1902), also known as the Boer War, the Anglo–Boer War, or the South African War, was a conflict fought between the British Empire and the two Boer Republics (the Sou ...

. On 1986.07.21 it was promoted as Military Ordinariate of Canada. Since the promulgation of the apostolic constitution
Spirituali militum curae
' by

Pope John Paul II Pope John Paul II ( la, Ioannes Paulus II; it, Giovanni Paolo II; pl, Jan Paweł II; born Karol Józef Wojtyła ; 18 May 19202 April 2005) was the head of the Catholic Church and sovereign of the Vatican City State from 1978 until his ...

, the administration of chaplaincies was made much easier.

Sex abuse controversies

On 7 September 2020, Canadian Armed Forces spokesman Maj. Travis Smyth acknowledged that Capt. Jean El-Dahdouh, a Montreal-based Maronite Order military chaplain found guilty the previous year of assault and sexual assault after a series of incidents at the upscale Nordik Spa-Nature in

Chelsea, Quebec Chelsea is a municipality located immediately north of Gatineau, Quebec, Canada, and about north of Ottawa. Chelsea is located within Canada's National Capital Region. It is the seat of Les Collines-de-l'Outaouais Regional County Municipali ...

, was still a member of the Canadian military, but he was now expected to soon be released from the armed forces. On 16 November 2020, documents which the Canadian Forces sought keep sealing for 40 years were public. The documents revealed that Canadian Forces knew that Catholic Chaplain Capt. Angus McRae had victims before his 1980 sex abuse conviction for children to his quarters at an Edmonton military base and gave them alcohol before sexually assaulting them.

Episcopal office holders

It twice had an Auxiliary Bishop of the Military Vicariate : * Norman Joseph Gallagher (1963.06.25 – 1966) *

Francis John Spence Francis John Spence (June 3, 1926 – July 27, 2011) was a Canadians, Canadian Roman Catholic prelate. Spence served as the Archbishop of the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Kingston in Canada, Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Kingston from 1982 until hi ...

(1967.04.01 – 1970.08.17 ''see below''),

Titular Bishop A titular bishop in various churches is a bishop who is not in charge of a diocese. By definition, a bishop is an "overseer" of a community of the faithful, so when a priest is ordained a bishop, the tradition of the Catholic, Eastern Orthodox an ...

of Nova (1967.04.01 – 1970.08.17), next Bishop of

Charlottetown Charlottetown is the capital and largest city of the Canadian province of Prince Edward Island, and the county seat of Queens County. Named after Queen Charlotte, Charlottetown was an unincorporated town until it was incorporated as a city in ...

(Canada) (1970.08.17 – 1982.03.14)

Military Bishops

Charles Leo Nelligan Charles Leo Nelligan was a Canadian bishop. As bishop of the Military Ordinariate of Canada, he praised the Knights of Columbus for their support of Canadian troops during World War II. He was Bishop of Pembroke from 1937 to 1945. His resting p ...

(appointed 20 September 1939 – resigned 19 May 1945), while Bishop of Pembroke (Canada) (1937.08.16 – 1945.05.19); emeritate as

of Phœnice (1945.05.19 – 1970.11.16), died 1974 *

Maurice Roy Maurice Roy (January 25, 1905 – October 24, 1985) was a Canadian Cardinal of the Roman Catholic Church. He served as Archbishop of Quebec from 1947 to 1981, and was elevated to the cardinalate in 1965. Early life Roy was born in Quebec ...

(appointed 8 June 1946 – ''see below'' became first Military Vicar 17 February 1951), while first Bishop of

Trois-Rivières Trois-Rivières (, – 'Three Rivers') is a city in the Mauricie administrative region of Quebec, Canada, at the confluence of the Saint-Maurice River, Saint-Maurice and Saint Lawrence River, Saint Lawrence rivers, on the north shore of the Sain ...

(Canada) (1946.02.22 – 1947.06.02), then Metropolitan Archbishop of

Québec Quebec ( ; )According to the Government of Canada, Canadian government, ''Québec'' (with the acute accent) is the official name in Canadian French and ''Quebec'' (without the accent) is the province's official name in Canadian English is ...

(Canada) (1947.06.02 – retired 1981.03.20)

Military Vicars

(''see above'' appointed 17 February 1951 – retired 12 March 1982), created

Cardinal-Priest A cardinal ( la, Sanctae Romanae Ecclesiae cardinalis, literally 'cardinal of the Holy Roman Church') is a senior member of the clergy of the Catholic Church. Cardinals are created by the ruling pope and typically hold the title for life. Col ...

Nostra Signora del SS. Sacramento e Santi Martiri Canadesi Nostra Signora del Santissimo Sacramento e dei Santi Martiri Canadesi (french: Notre-Dame-du-Très-Saint-Sacrement-et-Saints-Martyrs-Canadiens, "Blessed Virgin Mary (Roman Catholic), Our Lady of the Blessed Sacrament and the Canadian Martyrs") is ...

(1965.02.25 – death 1985.10.24), President of the

Pontifical Council for the Laity The Pontifical Council for the Laity was a pontifical council of the Roman Catholic Curia from 1967 to 2016. It had the responsibility of assisting the Pope in his dealings with the laity in lay ecclesial movements or individually, and their co ...

(1967.01.06 – 1976.12.16), President of the

Pontifical Commission of Justice and Peace A pontifical ( la, pontificale) is a Christian liturgical book containing the liturgies that only a bishop may perform. Among the liturgies are those of the ordinal for the ordination and consecration of deacons, priests, and bishops to Holy O ...

(1967.01.06 – 1976.12.16), President of the Committee for the Family (1973.01.11 – 1976.12.16) *

(''see above'' appointed 21 July 1986 – ''see below' became first Military Ordinary 21 July 1986)

Military Ordinaries

(''see above'' appointed 21 July 1986 – resigned 28 October 1987), while Metropolitan Archbishop of Kingston (Canada) (1982.04.24 – 2002.04.27), later President of Canadian Conference of Catholic Bishops (1995–1997) *

André Vallée André Vallée (July 31, 1930 – February 28, 2015) was a Roman Catholic bishop. Ordained to the priesthood in 1956, Vallée was named bishop of the Military Ordinariate of Canada The Military Ordinariate of Canada (french: Ordinariat mili ...

, Society of Foreign Missions (P.M.E.) (appointed 28 October 1987 – 19 August 1996), Titular Bishop of Sufasar (1987.10.28 – 1996.08.19), later translated to the Diocese of Hearst (1996.08.19 – retired 2005.11.03), died 2015; previously

Superior General A superior general or general superior is the leader or head of a religious institute in the Catholic Church and some other Christian denominations. The superior general usually holds supreme executive authority in the religious community, while t ...

of Society of Foreign Missions (1973.07.05 – 1979.06.05) *

Donald Thériault Donald is a masculine given name derived from the Gaelic name ''Dòmhnall''.. This comes from the Proto-Celtic *''Dumno-ualos'' ("world-ruler" or "world-wielder"). The final -''d'' in ''Donald'' is partly derived from a misinterpretation of the ...

(appointed 25 March 1998 – retired 2016.04.08), no other office * Scott McCaig,

Companions of the Cross , image = , image_size = 25px , abbreviation = C.C. , motto = , formation = , founder = Rev. Robert 'Bob' Bedard, CC , type = Roman Catholic Society of Apostol ...

(C.C.) (appointed May 31, 2016 – ...), previously

General Superior A superior general or general superior is the leader or head of a religious institute in the Catholic Church and some other Christian denominations. The superior general usually holds supreme executive authority in the religious community, while th ...

of Companions of the Cross (2006 – 2016.04.08)

References

Sources and external links

GCatholic.org, with Google map and satellite photo

Roman Catholic Military Ordinariate of Canada
(Official Website)
Diocèse militaire du Canada
Missa.org (in French)
Military Chaplaincy

(Catholic-Hierarchy) {{authority control Roman Catholic dioceses in Canada Military of Canada *

Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, covering over , making it the world's second-largest country by tot ...

Christian organizations established in 1951

1951 establishments in Canada