Raymond O. Roussin was the Archbishop of the

Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Vancouver The Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Vancouver ( la, Archidioecesis Vancouveriensis) is a Roman Catholic Latin archdiocese that includes part of the Canadian province of British Columbia. Its cathedral archiepiscopal see is the Holy Rosary Cathed ...

from 2004 to January 2009, when his resignation was accepted by Pope Benedict XVI.

Curriculum vitae

Born, Raymond Roussin, on June 17, 1939, in St. Vital, Winnipeg, Canada.

Ordination

Raymond Roussin entered the religious institute of the Society of Mary in 1961 in

St. Louis, Missouri St. Louis () is the second-largest city in Missouri, United States. It sits near the confluence of the Mississippi and the Missouri Rivers. In 2020, the city proper had a population of 301,578, while the bi-state metropolitan area, which e ...

and was

ordain Ordination is the process by which individuals are consecrated, that is, set apart and elevated from the laity class to the clergy, who are thus then authorized (usually by the denominational hierarchy composed of other clergy) to perform var ...

ed as a

priest A priest is a religious leader authorized to perform the sacred rituals of a religion, especially as a mediatory agent between humans and one or more deities. They also have the authority or power to administer religious rites; in partic ...

in 1970.

Consecration

In 1995, Raymond Roussin was appointed Bishop of Gravelbourg and in 1999, Bishop of Victoria. Raymond Roussin was appointed Archbishop of Vancouver on January 10, 2004. His request for early retirement (for reasons of health since he had been suffering from depression) was accepted by Pope Benedict XVI on January 2, 2009. He was open with his depression long before his resignation which is unusual for bishops and other high churchmen. Psychologists lauded his coming forward as heroic.

Legacy

Due to the declining Catholic population in the

Diocese of Gravelbourg The Roman Catholic Diocese of Gravelbourg ( la, Dioecesis Gravelburgensis) was a Latin suffragan of the Archdiocese of Regina and presently a Latin Catholic titular see. Due to the declining Catholic population in the diocese, the last bishop, R ...

Saskatchewan Saskatchewan ( ; ) is a province in western Canada, bordered on the west by Alberta, on the north by the Northwest Territories, on the east by Manitoba, to the northeast by Nunavut, and on the south by the U.S. states of Montana and North Dak ...

, Raymond Roussin was entrusted with dissolving the Diocese in 1995. On September 14, 1998, the Diocese reverted to the

Archdiocese of Regina The Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Regina ( la, Archidioecesis Reginatensis) is a Roman Catholic archdiocese comprising the southern part of the Canadian province of Saskatchewan, as far north as the 30th township, or about 51°30' lat. The metropo ...

and the Diocese of Saskatoon.The Vancouver Sun - February 24, 2007
/ref> In 1998, Raymond Roussin became Bishop of

Victoria, British Columbia Victoria is the capital city of the Canadian province of British Columbia, on the southern tip of Vancouver Island off Canada's Pacific coast. The city has a population of 91,867, and the Greater Victoria area has a population of 397,237. The ...

. Because earlier questionable investments left the Diocese of Victoria in financial trouble, Raymond Roussin reorganized its finances by selling off unused property and brought the situation under control. In February 2007, Archbishop Raymond Roussin called for pornography-free mobile service. The call was for Catholics & non-Catholics to divest from

Telus Mobility Telus Mobility (normally typeset as TELUS Mobility) is a Canadian wireless network operator and a division of Telus Communications which sells wireless services in Canada on its numerous networks. It operates 5G, LTE and HSPA+ on its mainstre ...

and to write to the Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission to stop downloading of pornography onto cell phones. Roussin's call, whose story drew the attention of The New York Times and Bloomberg News, was key to Telus dropping its adult content offerings. On July 7, 2008, James Wingle, Bishop of St. Catharines and Raymond Roussin, Archbishop of Vancouver, spoke out strongly against the decision to grant Dr.

Henry Morgentaler Henekh "Henry" Morgentaler, (March 19, 1923 – May 29, 2013), was a Polish-born Canadian physician and abortion rights advocate who fought numerous legal battles aimed at expanding abortion rights in Canada. As a Jewish youth during World War ...

the

Order of Canada The Order of Canada (french: Ordre du Canada; abbreviated as OC) is a Canadian state order and the second-highest honour for merit in the system of orders, decorations, and medals of Canada, after the Order of Merit. To coincide with the ...

, and called for this award to be revoked. On September 5, 2008, Raymond Roussin, asked for support of Bill C-484, which would help protect the unborn as victims of crime. Presently, if a pregnant woman is attacked, and her unborn child is killed, the attacker is not charged with the murder of the child.The Catholic Register - September 5, 2008
/ref> On January 2, 2009, he was succeeded by J. Michael Miller. On April 24, 2015, he died in Winnipeg.

Other positions

* member of Canadian Conference of Catholic Bishops (CCCB) * member of the Episcopal Commission for Christian Education (French Sector) * member of Episcopal Commission for Liturgy (English Sector)

References

External links

Archdiocese of VancouverSt. Mary's University

Archdiocese of Vancouver former bishops
{{DEFAULTSORT:Roussin, Raymond 1939 births 2015 deaths 21st-century Roman Catholic archbishops in Canada Roman Catholic archbishops of Vancouver Marianists People from St. Vital, Winnipeg Roman Catholic bishops of Victoria in Canada Roman Catholic bishops of Saint Boniface