The new Archbishop of Quebec

Here's a link to the story I wrote about Archbishop-elect Lacroix, now published at the Catholic Register:

OTTAWA - At 53, and a bishop for only two years, Archbishop-elect Gerald Cyprien Lacroix was surprised to get the call to replace Cardinal Marc Ouellet as archbishop of Quebec.

Lacroix knew there were many other good candidates with “lots more experience.”

“So I’m surprised, I’m humbled, and with joy I accept,” Lacroix said. “It is the Lord’s will through the Pope, through the consultation and the prayers of the people,” he said, noting that he knows accepting God’s will “is a source of joy,” and has given him peace, “although it’s a big responsibility.”

Ouellet, who left Quebec in August to become Prefect of the Congregation for Bishops, one of the top three positions in the Vatican, would have played a significant role in advising Pope Benedict XVI on Lacroix’s selection. Lacroix has served as the diocesan administrator of the Quebec archdiocese since Ouellet’s departure.
Lacroix did not get the usual telephone call from papal nuncio Archbishop Pedro Lopez Quintana when he was informed of the Holy Father’s appointment. Instead of offering Lacroix the position, Quintana invited him to Ottawa.

“He didn’t want to ask me over the phone,” said Lacroix, adding they “had a long chat” before he accepted.

“The nuncio explained to me the Holy Father wanted someone like you and someone who believed in the new evangelization and someone who is close to the people.”

Lacroix also assumes the role as primate of Canada. Though the title is an honorific one that goes with North America’s oldest See, Ouellet filled the role with a moral authority that spoke to the whole of Quebec and the rest of Canada as well. Asked if he expected a mantle of national leadership to fall on him, Lacroix acknowledged “there will be some expectations.”

“The stakes are very high and the people are putting the bar very high,” he said. “I am named archbishop of Quebec to take care of the flock of the Lord here.

“I hope to have a lot of influence in my diocese and bring people together to unity, to Christ, to evangelization. The rest, we’ll see what happens. I’m not looking any further right now, I have plenty on my hands.”

In a Feb. 22 news conference, televised over ECDQ.TV, the Quebec archdiocese’s Internet-based television network, Lacroix described himself as a simple man, a man of the land and of the people, whose biggest passion is sharing the Good News of the Gospel and inviting people to a personal encounter with the Lord Jesus Christ.

Asked about Ouellet’s influence on him, he said he gained much from the cardinal, and praised his love for the Word of God and his courage.