To better enter together into a new evangelization, our Archbishop, The Most Reverend Christian Lépine, is announcing a significant reorganization of the deaneries for September 2017.

With his apostolic exhortation The Joy of the Gospel, Pope Francis calls the entire Church towards a missionary shift. In Montreal, Quebec, we have begun to respond to this invitation.

To better enter together into a new evangelization, our Archbishop, The Most Reverend Christian Lépine, is announcing a significant reorganization of the deaneries for September 2017. 

He is appointing two collaborators to promote solidarity among those who serve the mission of the Church in the neighbourhoods of our Archdiocese.

Archbishop Lépine is entrusting the responsibility of episcopal vicars for the deaneries, for the life of the Church in the French-speaking communities, to Msgr. Roger Dufresne (until now the Director of the Office for Pastoral Personnel) and Father Alain Mongeau, the pastor of Saint-Jean-Baptiste Parish.

According to the proposed project, the episcopal vicars will work together with the clergy - pastors assisted by a local coordination team - with Father Raymond Lafontaine, Episcopal Vicar for the English-speaking faithful and with the person in charge of the cultural and ritual communities of the Church in Montreal (still to be appointed).

Our Archbishop has appointed Fr. Pierangelo Paternieri, c.s. to succeed Msgr. Dufresne as Director of the Office for Pastoral Personnel. Fr. Paternieri is currently Director of the Office of Cultural and Ritual Communities.

Other announcements will follow during the course of the summer concerning who will be taking over the responsibilities of Fr. Paternieri and Fr. Mongeau.

For the past five years, the Church of Montreal's deaneries have served to support priestly fraternity, bringing together priests from within the same neighbourhoods, for prayer and sharing.

As well as this objective, pastoral and missionary collaboration will from now on be at the forefront of the work of the deaneries.

A deanery brings together parishes, movements, congregations and other Church initiatives, within the same neighbourhood or neighbouring communities, to assure better coordination, flow of information and sharing of resources.

We will have the opportunity to speak about this again by the end of the summer.

I would like to wish you a great summer. May the Lord be ever at your side!

God bless,

+Alain Faubert
Auxiliary Bishop and Vicar General

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Father Pierangelo Paternieri
A member of the Congregation of the Missionaries of St. Charles (Scalabrinians), Father Pierangelo Paternieri is the Director of the Office of Cultural and Ritual Communities in addition to being in charge of the Notre-Dame-de-l'Amour-Divin Mission.  

Father Alain Mongeau
A diocesan priest, Father Alain Mongeau is the parish priest of Saint-Jean-Baptiste and Saint-Denis parishes in addition to being very involved in La Bande FM.

Msgr. Roger Dufresne
A diocesan priest, Msgr. Roger Dufresne is the Director of the Office for Pastoral Personnel while regularly fulfilling various individual mandates at the request of the Archbishop.