Former Bishops

- Diocese

Jean-Louis Plouffe - December 2, 1989 – January 13, 2016

By their episcopal consecration, Bishops receive, together with the office of sanctifying, the offices also of teaching and of ruling, which however, by their nature, can be exercised only in hierarchical communion with the head of the College and its members (Can. 375§ 2)

Bishop Jean-Louis Plouffe was born October 29th, 1940 in Ottawa, Ontario. He attended Guigues School prior to his studies at the Ottawa Minor and Major Seminaries. He was ordained to the priesthood in Notre Dame Cathedral, Ottawa by the Most Reverend René Audet on June 12th, 1965.

Since then, he has completed various post-graduate studies in Toronto, Belgium, at Saint Paul University in Ottawa, and at the Gregorian University in Rome. He holds a Masters Degree and a Licentiate in Theology, a Diploma in Liturgy and Mission Studies and a Licentiate in Canon Law.

As a priest of the Archdiocese of Ottawa, Father Plouffe carried out his pastoral duties in various parishes, including Saint-Rémi and Nativité. He served as Rector of Notre-Dame Cathedral Basilica from 1979 to 1982. In September 1982, he was appointed Judicial Vicar of the Ottawa Regional Ecclesiastical Tribunal.

On December 17th, 1986, His Holiness Pope John Paul II named him Titular Bishop of Lamzella and Auxiliary Bishop of Sault Ste. Marie. He was ordained to the Episcopate in Ottawa by the Most Reverend Marcel Gervais on February 24th, 1987.
On December 14th, 1989 he became the 5th Bishop of Sault Ste. Marie.

On November 12th, 2015, having reached the age of 75, the Holy Father accepted
Bishop Plouffe’s resignation as Bishop of Sault Ste. Marie. However, he remained Apostolic Administrator for the Diocese until the installation of his successor,
Bishop Marcel Damphousse on January 13th, 2016. Today he is the Bishop Emeritus of the Diocese of Sault Ste. Marie.
Marcel Gervais - May 3, 1985 - May 13, 1989

Archbishop Gervais was born in Elie Manitoba on September 21th, 1931. He is the ninth of fourteen children. His family came from Manitoba to the Sparta area near St. Thomas, Ontario when he was just a teenager. He went to Sparta Continuation School and took his final year at Saint Joseph`s High School in
St. Thomas. After high school he went to study for the priesthood at St. Peter’s Seminary in London, Ontario. He was ordained in 1958.

He was sent to study in Rome. This was followed by studies at the École Biblique in Jerusalem. He returned to London to teach scripture to the seminarians at St. Peter’s Seminary.

In 1974 he was asked by Bishop Emmett Carter to take over as director of the Divine Word International Centre of Religious Education. This Centre had been founded by Bishop Carter to provide a resource for adult education in the spirit of Vatican II.

This Centre involved sessions of one or two weeks with many of the best scholars of the time. Students came not only from Canada and the United States but from all over the globe, Australia, Africa, Asia and Europe.

By the time Father Gervais became the director, Divine Word Centre was already a course dominated by the study of scripture to which he added social justice. This aspect of the course of studies was presented by people from every part of the “third world”; among which were Fr. Gustavo Gutierrez and Cardinal Dery of Ghana.

In 1976 the Conference of Ontario Bishops along with the Canadian conference of Religious Women approached Father Gervais to provide a written course of studies in Sacred Scripture for the Church at large, but especially for priests and religious women. This is when
Fr. Gervais began to write Journey, a set of forty lessons on the Bible. He was armed with a treasure of information from all the teachers and witnesses to the faith that had lectured at Devine Word.

He was assisted by a large number of enthusiastic collaborators: all the people who had made presentations at Divine Word and provided materials and a team of great assistants, also at Divine Word Centre.

The work was finished just as Father Gervais was ordained an auxiliary bishop of London (1980). He subsequently was made Bishop of Sault Ste. Marie Diocese, and after four years, Archbishop of Ottawa (1989).
Alexander Carter - November 22, 1958 - May 3, 1985

Bishop Carter received a Sulpician education at
St. Patrick’s School and Montreal College both of which were run by the Sulpicians (order of priests of the Society of Saint Sulpice, PSS)

He attended the Sulpician-run Grand Seminary in Montreal and was ordained June 6th, 1936. One year later was sent to Rome for two years to study Canon Law at Appolinaris Law School. While in Rome he stayed at Canadian College, a Sulpician-run residence.

Between 1946 and 1947 Carter was dispatched to the Archdiocese of Winnipeg to help iron out problems arising from then Archbishop Sinnott’s reluctance to relinquish authority to a Coadjutor Archbishop.

He taught Apologetics at Montreal College to English-speaking students, many of whom were Americans.

On February 2nd, 1957, at age 49, he was consecrated Bishop to serve as Coadjutor Bishop to Bishop R. H. Dignan, at the Diocese of Sault Ste. Marie. He was installed as Bishop of Sault Ste. Marie on November 22nd, 1958. After becoming Bishop of Sault Ste. Marie he appointed Fathers Adolphe Proulx and Bernard Pappin as Chancellors, sent Proulx to Archdiocese of Montreal to learn the ropes, Pappin to the Diocese of London. The following year he sent Proulx to Rome to study Canon Law.

In 1964 he petitioned Rome for an Auxiliary Bishop to ease his workload. In his memoirs wrote that he had Proulx in mind for the role – he had decided that Proulx was the kind of man he wanted as a French-speaking Auxiliary and “I saw his great devotion to the Church and his goodness.” (Proulx was consecrated Bishop February 1965 and served as Auxiliary to Carter until June 1967 when, much to Carter’s dismay he was installed as Bishop of Alexandria [Alexandria-Cornwall])

He was Vice-President of the Canadian Conference of Catholic Bishops from 1965-1967, and President from 1967-1969. From 1977-1981 he was President of the Ontario Catholic Conference of Bishops.

Carter was a close friend of Laurent Morin with whom he attended seminary, studied in Rome and travelled Europe. Morin was later consecrated as Bishop, first serving as Auxiliary Bishop in Montreal and later installed as Bishop of Prince Albert, Saskatchewan

On May 1985 Bishop Alex Carter resigned. He received the Order of Canada in 1989. He died February 17th, 2002.
Ralph Dignan - December 22, 1934 - November 22, 1958

Throughout Bishop Ralph Hubert Dignan’s episcopate, Northern Ontario was to experience great economic development: steel factories in Sault Ste. Marie, uranium exploitation in Elliot Lake and nickel in Sudbury. North Bay soon became the industrial hub of Northern Ontario.

Bishop Dignan was a man of principle. While one might rightfully criticize his political convictions, one must also recognize his many qualities, in particular, his management skills. During his entire episcopate, Bishop Dignan enriched the diocese with an impressive number of hospitals and schools of which many still exist today.

Toward the end of his episcopate, Bishop Dignan became sick and retired in London where he died on November 22nd, 1958. His coadjutor, Bishop Alexander Carter, who had come to the diocese in 1957, became his successor and for the next twenty five years, the diocese would acquire a whole new momentum.
David Joseph Scollard - September 20, 1904 - September 7, 1934

Prior to 1904, Catholics in Northern Ontario were under the jurisdiction of the Diocese of Peterborough. Faced with an ever-growing Catholic population, Bishop Richard Alphonsus O’Connor saw the need to divide the territory and create another diocese. The idea was presented to Pope Pius X and in September 1904 the Diocese of Sault Ste. Marie was officially founded.

The city of Sault Ste. Marie, geographically situated in the middle of the diocese, seemed the ideal place for the new cathedral. The new diocese would cover all the land east of the Nipissing region and stretch west to Thunder Bay. With this new diocese came the need for a new Bishop. Bishop O’Connor submitted the names of three candidates while favoring one of his friends, Father David Joseph Scollard, whose family he knew very well. Father Scollard, well known for his qualities of leadership was, in Bishop O’Connor’s opinion, the most suitable candidate for undertaking the huge responsibilities awaiting the first Bishop of this new Diocese.

The newly appointed Bishop spent considerable time visiting and getting acquainted with the faithful of his diocese. His means of transportation were primitive and often, while travelling, he contended with other difficulties. Fortunately, Bishop Scollard was assisted in his ministry by six diocesan priests, thirty-eight Jesuits priests, eighteen Jesuit coadjutor brothers and the relentless dedication of various other religious orders.

A person of Irish descent, Bishop Scollard was a true man of his time. One must also acknowledge that Bishop Scollard was a man of vision who foresaw a bright future for Northern Ontario. For twenty-nine years he worked diligently for the people of this Diocese, continually building and nurturing the Catholic faith.