(CCCB) His Holiness Pope Francis has accepted the resignation of the Most Reverend Jean Gagnon as Bishop of the Diocese of Gaspé, and has appointed on July 2, 2016, as his successor the Most Reverend Gaétan Proulx, O.S.M.

At the time of his appointment, the Bishop-elect was Auxiliary Bishop of the Archdiocese of Québec. Bishop Gagnon has been Bishop of the Diocese of Gaspé for the past 15 years. He had submitted his resignation to the Holy Father upon reaching the age of 75, as required by the Code of Canon Law.

Bishop-Elect Gaétan Proulx, O.S.M., was born on May 27, 1947, in Saint-Denis-de-Brompton, Quebec. After joining the Servite Order, he obtained a Bachelor's degree in philosophy from the Dominican University College in Ottawa, and a Master's of Theology from Laval University in Quebec. Ordained a priest on June 8, 1975, he served as assistant and master of novices for his community until his departure for France in 1985, where he served his priestly ministry in the Dioceses of Séez and Belley-Ars. In 1989, he was called to Brussels to serve as Master of Formation for the Servites in France, Belgium and the Democratic Republic of Congo. He returned to Quebec in 1991, where he again served as Master of Formation for the Servites of Quebec, while also serving the Saint-Jean-Baptiste-de-la-Salle Parish in Quebec City. In 2000, he became Prior of the Canadian Servite Province and, in 2005, administrator and pastor of Notre-Dame-de-Foy Parish, until his appointment as Auxiliary Bishop of the Archdiocese of Québec on December 12, 2011.

Bishop Gagnon was born on May 21, 1941, in St-Joseph-de-Lauzon, Quebec. He was ordained a priest in 1966 for the Archdiocese of Québec. On December 4, 1998, he was appointed Auxiliary Bishop of Québec. Appointed Apostolic Administrator of the Diocese of Gaspé on July 21, 2001, he was named Bishop of the same diocese on November 15, 2002. As a member of the CCCB, Bishop Gagnon has served as member and Chairman of the former Commission for Social Affairs (1999-2003), member of the former Programs and PrioritiesCommittee (2001-2003), member of the former Commission for Christian Education of the French Sector (2003-2005), and member of the Commission for Liturgy and Sacraments of the French Sector (2011-2016). Bishop Gagnon has also been a CCCB representative on the Board of the Catholic Organization for Life and Family (COLF) (2005-2007) and was its Chairman (2007-2009).

According to the CCCB 2016 Directory, the Diocese of Gaspé has 64 parishes and missions, with a Catholic population of 85,840 served by 37 diocesan priests, three priests who are members of institutes of consecrated life, five permanent deacons, 115 religious Sisters and Brothers who are members of religious institutes, as well as four lay pastoral workers.

According to the CCCB 2016 Directory, the Archdiocese of Toronto has 249 parishes and missions, with a population of 1,626,465 Catholics, served by 296 diocesan priests, 413 priests who are members of institutes of consecrated life, 130 permanent deacons, 556 Sisters and 44 Brothers who are members of religious institutes, as well as 68 lay pastoral workers.