Terrence Thomas Prendergast (born 19 February 1944) is a Canadian member of the
Society of Jesus
, image = Ihs-logo.svg
, image_size = 175px
, caption = ChristogramOfficial seal of the Jesuits
, abbreviation = SJ
, nickname = Jesuits
, formation =
, founders ...
who is also a
prelate
A prelate () is a high-ranking member of the Christian clergy who is an ordinary or who ranks in precedence with ordinaries. The word derives from the Latin , the past participle of , which means 'carry before', 'be set above or over' or 'pre ...
of the Roman Catholic Church and the
Archbishop Emeritus of Ottawa-Cornwall. He was formerly an
Auxiliary Bishop of the
Archdiocese of Toronto
The Archdiocese of Toronto ( la, Archidioecesis Torontina) is a Roman Catholic archdiocese that includes part of the Province of Ontario. Its archbishop is also the ecclesiastical provincial for the dioceses of Hamilton, London, Saint Catharines ...
and the
Archbishop of Halifax. On 6 May 2020
Pope Francis
Pope Francis ( la, Franciscus; it, Francesco; es, link=, Francisco; born Jorge Mario Bergoglio, 17 December 1936) is the head of the Catholic Church. He has been the bishop of Rome and sovereign of the Vatican City State since 13 March 2013. ...
merged the Archdiocese of Ottawa and the Diocese of Alexandria-Cornwall, naming Prendergast Archbishop of the newly formed
Archdiocese of Ottawa-Cornwall. He formally retired in 4 December 2020, and was succeeded by
Marcel Damphousse
Marcel may refer to:
People
* Marcel (given name), people with the given name Marcel
* Marcel (footballer, born August 1981), Marcel Silva Andrade, Brazilian midfielder
* Marcel (footballer, born November 1981), Marcel Augusto Ortolan, Brazilian s ...
, the Coadjutor Archbishop.
Early life
A native of
Montreal
Montreal ( ; officially Montréal, ) is the second-most populous city in Canada and most populous city in the Canadian province of Quebec. Founded in 1642 as '' Ville-Marie'', or "City of Mary", it is named after Mount Royal, the triple ...
, Prendergast was born in 1944, one of five children. He entered the
Jesuit novitiate in 1961 and was
ordained
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 ...
a priest in 1972. He holds a
Bachelor of Arts
Bachelor of arts (BA or AB; from the Latin ', ', or ') is a bachelor's degree awarded for an undergraduate program in the arts, or, in some cases, other disciplines. A Bachelor of Arts degree course is generally completed in three or four year ...
degree from
Fordham University, as well as the
Master of Divinity and
Doctor of Theology degrees from
Saint Mary's University, Halifax
Saint Mary's University (SMU) is a formerly Catholic, public university located in Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada. The school is best known for having nationally leading programs in business and chemistry, as well as one of the best Canadian women ...
through its earlier affiliation with
Regis College, now part of the
Toronto School of Theology.
For his
regency
A regent (from Latin : ruling, governing) is a person appointed to govern a state '' pro tempore'' (Latin: 'for the time being') because the monarch is a minor, absent, incapacitated or unable to discharge the powers and duties of the monarchy ...
, Prendergast taught Latin and Greek at Loyola High School in Montreal from 1967-1969 and, after ordination and graduate studies in theology, taught in
Halifax at the
Atlantic School of Theology from 1975–1981, then was Rector of Toronto's Regis College from 1981–87, and its Dean of
Theology
Theology is the systematic study of the nature of the divine and, more broadly, of religious belief. It is taught as an academic discipline, typically in universities and seminaries. It occupies itself with the unique content of analyzing the ...
from 1991-1994. From 1992-94 he assisted
Frederick Henry, then the Auxiliary Bishop of London (Ontario), later
Bishop of Thunder Bay and Bishop of Calgary, in conducting an
apostolic visitation
In the Catholic Church, a canonical visitation is the act of an ecclesiastical superior who in the discharge of his office visits persons or places with a view to maintaining faith and discipline and of correcting abuses. A person delegated to ca ...
of the English-language seminaries in Canada for the
Vatican
Vatican may refer to:
Vatican City, the city-state ruled by the pope in Rome, including St. Peter's Basilica, Sistine Chapel, Vatican Museum
The Holy See
* The Holy See, the governing body of the Catholic Church and sovereign entity recognized ...
. In 1995, he was a Visiting
Professor
Professor (commonly abbreviated as Prof.) is an academic rank at universities and other post-secondary education and research institutions in most countries. Literally, ''professor'' derives from Latin as a "person who professes". Professors ...
at the
Ecole Biblique in
Jerusalem
Jerusalem (; he, יְרוּשָׁלַיִם ; ar, القُدس ) (combining the Biblical and common usage Arabic names); grc, Ἱερουσαλήμ/Ἰεροσόλυμα, Hierousalḗm/Hierosóluma; hy, Երուսաղեմ, Erusałēm. i ...
.
Bishop
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 ...
named Prendergast the
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 ...
of
Slebte and an
Auxiliary Bishop of the
Archdiocese of Toronto
The Archdiocese of Toronto ( la, Archidioecesis Torontina) is a Roman Catholic archdiocese that includes part of the Province of Ontario. Its archbishop is also the ecclesiastical provincial for the dioceses of Hamilton, London, Saint Catharines ...
on 22 February 1995.
[ He was consecrated in St. Michael's Cathedral on 25 April 1995. In Toronto, his duties as auxiliary included responsibility for the Western Pastoral Region (]Etobicoke
Etobicoke (, ) is an administrative district of, and one of six municipalities amalgamated into, the city of Toronto, Ontario, Canada. Comprising the city's west-end, Etobicoke was first settled by Europeans in the 1790s, and the municipalit ...
, part of North York and the region of Peel-Dufferin), liaison with the theological faculties and planning for the Great Jubilee.
In 1998 Prendergast was appointed the Archbishop of Halifax, and installed on 14 September 1998. He served ''ex officio'' as the Chancellor of Saint Mary's University, Halifax
Saint Mary's University (SMU) is a formerly Catholic, public university located in Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada. The school is best known for having nationally leading programs in business and chemistry, as well as one of the best Canadian women ...
, a position granted to the Archbishop of Halifax until 2007, when the archdiocese and the university agreed to bestow the title of Visitor instead.
Prendergast was named the ninth Archbishop of Ottawa by Pope Benedict XVI
Pope Benedict XVI ( la, Benedictus XVI; it, Benedetto XVI; german: link=no, Benedikt XVI.; born Joseph Aloisius Ratzinger, , on 16 April 1927) is a retired prelate of the Catholic church who served as the head of the Church and the soverei ...
on 14 May 2007 and was installed on 26 June 2007. In this office, he also serves ''ex officio'' as Chancellor of Saint Paul University
Saint Paul University (french: Université Saint-Paul) is a bilingual Catholic Pontifical university federated with the University of Ottawa since 1965. It is located on Main Street in Canada's capital city, Ottawa, Ontario. Fully bilingual, it ...
. In 2012, Prendergast welcomed a number of members of the Anglican Catholic Church of Canada into full communion with the Roman Catholic Church.
Prendergast is a known supporter of the Tridentine Mass
The Tridentine Mass, also known as the Traditional Latin Mass or Traditional Rite, is the liturgy of Mass in the Roman Rite of the Catholic Church that appears in typical editions of the Roman Missal published from 1570 to 1962. Celebrated almo ...
and has collaborated on numerous occasions with the traditionalist group the Priestly Fraternity of Saint Peter or FSSP. In 2015 Prendergast ordained 2 members of the society in St-Hyacinthe, Quebec. In 2017 Prendergast ordained 7 members of the society to the priesthood at the North American Martyrs Church in Lincoln, Nebraska
Lincoln is the capital city of the U.S. state of Nebraska and the county seat of Lancaster County. The city covers with a population of 292,657 in 2021. It is the second-most populous city in Nebraska and the 73rd-largest in the United Sta ...
. On May 31, 2019 Prendergast ordained Luc Poirier as a priest of the society in the Notre-Dame Cathedral Basilica
The Notre-Dame Cathedral Basilica is a Catholic Church, Roman Catholic minor basilica in Ottawa, Ontario, Canada located on 385 Sussex Drive in the Lower Town neighbourhood. It was designated a National Historic Sites of Canada, National Historic ...
.
He was appointed Apostolic Administrator of Alexandria-Cornwall on January 13, 2016 and became Bishop there on April 27, 2018 while remaining Archbishop of Ottawa. The two dioceses were united “in persona episcopi” (“in the person of the Bishop”). They were then united on May 6, 2020 to form the Archdiocese of Ottawa-Cornwall, under him as Archbishop.
On 30 November 2020, he was appointed apostolic administrator of Diocese of Hearst–Moosonee, after the resignation of its Bishop Robert Ovide Bourgon. In the following 4 December, he formally retired as Archbishop, and was succeeded by Marcel Damphousse
Marcel may refer to:
People
* Marcel (given name), people with the given name Marcel
* Marcel (footballer, born August 1981), Marcel Silva Andrade, Brazilian midfielder
* Marcel (footballer, born November 1981), Marcel Augusto Ortolan, Brazilian s ...
, the Coadjutor Archbishop who was appointed when the new Archdiocese of Ottawa-Cornwall was formed.
Other episcopal roles
After serving on the Canadian Bishops' Commission for Relations with Associations of Clergy, Consecrated Life and Laity, as a member of the CCCB Theology Commission ow known as the Doctrine Commission its Commission on Social Communications, several terms on the Permanent Council (including since 2015 as representative of the Bishops of Ontario) and earlier as co-chair of the national Anglican-Roman Catholic dialogue, Prendergast is, since October 2014, a member of the CCCB's Episcopal Liaison Committee to the Canadian Catholic Organization for Development and Peace.
His other responsibilities include president of National Evangelization Teams Canada (NET Canada) and chair of CNEWA (Catholic Near East Welfare Association) Canada, both of which are based in Ottawa.
Prendergast is a teacher, writer and retreat master. From 1994 to 2005, he wrote a weekly column in the ''Catholic Register''. A collection of his essays was published as ''Living God's Word: Reflections on the Sunday Readings for Year A, B, C''.[ Reprinted Mumbai: St Paul Publications, 2013.] He has been a writer or editor for several journals, and lectured and given retreats across Canada, in the United States and Rome.
Prendergast was Apostolic Administrator of the Diocese of Yarmouth, Nova Scotia (now part of the Halifax-Yarmouth Archdiocese) from January 2002 to May 2007, and took part in the Apostolic visitation to Ireland which began in 2010 and was completed in 2011.
References
External links
The Journey of a Bishop - Terrence Prendergast's Blog
Canadian Catholic News
Canadian Conference of Catholic Bishops Press Release
{{DEFAULTSORT:Prendergast, Terrence
1944 births
Living people
Clergy from Montreal
20th-century Canadian Jesuits
21st-century Canadian Jesuits
Fordham University alumni
Saint Mary's University (Halifax) alumni
University of Toronto alumni
Canadian university and college chancellors
Jesuit archbishops
20th-century Roman Catholic archbishops in Canada
21st-century Roman Catholic archbishops in Canada
Roman Catholic archbishops of Halifax
Roman Catholic archbishops of Ottawa–Cornwall