Roman Catholic Diocese of Alexandria–Cornwall

Diocese of Alexandria–Cornwall Dioecesis Alexandrina–Cornubiensis
Location
Country	Canada
Territory	St. Lawrence Valley
Population - Catholics	56,600 (62.2%)
Information
Denomination	Roman Catholic
Rite	Roman Rite
Established	January 23, 1890
Cathedral	St. Finnan's Cathedral, Alexandria
Co-cathedral	Co-cathédrale de la Nativité, Cornwall
Patron saint	St. Finnan
Current leadership
Pope	Francis
Bishop	Terrence Prendergast, SJ
Website
alexandria-cornwall.ca

The Roman Catholic Diocese of Alexandria–Cornwall (Latin: Dioecesis Alexandrina–Cornubiensis) was a Roman Catholic diocese that comprises the easternmost part of the Province of Ontario. The diocese was created by Pope Leo XIII on January 23, 1890. It has also previously operated under the name the Roman Catholic Diocese of Alexandria in Ontario. On May 6, 2020, Pope Francis has ordered the merging of the Archdiocese of Ottawa and the diocese of Alexandria-Cornwall in Canada and has named the current Archbishop of Ottawa, Terrence Prendergast, as Archbishop of the new ecclesiastical circumscription of Ottawa-Cornwall.

The see of Alexandria-Cornwall was vacant following the appointment of then-bishop Marcel Damphousse as the Bishop of Sault Sainte Marie on November 12, 2015. Archbishop Terrence Thomas Prendergast, SJ, of the Archdiocese of Ottawa, was appointed Apostolic Administrator on January 13, 2016 and became Bishop of Alexandria-Cornwall on April 27, 2018 while remaining Archbishop of Ottawa. The two dioceses were united “in persona episcopi” (“in the person of the Bishop”). On December 12, 2018 Pope Francis named Reverend Guy Desrochers C.Ss.R. Titular Bishop of Melzi and Auxiliary Bishop of Alexandria-Cornwall (with episcopal ordination to take place in St Finnan's Cathedral, Alexandria on February 22, 2019).

As of 2004, the diocese contains 32 parishes, 36 active diocesan priests, 9 religious priests, and 56,000 Catholics. It also has 32 Women Religious, 13 Religious Brothers, and 16 permanent deacons.

Bishops

The following is a list of the bishops of Alexandria-Cornwall, and their terms of service:

• Alexander Macdonell (1890-1905)
• William Andrew Macdonell (1906-1920)
• Félix Couturier, O.P. (1921-1941)
• Rosario L. Brodeur (1941-1966)
• Adolphe E. Proulx (1967-1974)
• Eugène Philippe LaRocque (1974–2002)
• Paul-André Durocher (2002–2011), appointed Archbishop of Gatineau, Québec
• Marcel Damphousse (2012–2015), appointed Bishop of Sault Sainte Marie, Ontario
• Terrence Prendergast, S.J. (2015-2018 - Apostolic Administrator see below)
• Terrence Prendergast, S.J. (see above 2018-2020)

Coadjutor bishop

• Rosario L. Brodeur (1941)

Auxiliary bishops

• Jacques Landriault (1962-1964), appointed Bishop of Hearst, Ontario
• Joseph-Aurèle Plourde (1964-1967), appointed Archbishop of Ottawa, Ontario
• Guy Desrochers, C.Ss.R. (2018-2020), appointed Bishop of Pembroke, Ontario

Other priest of this diocese who became bishop

• Joseph Luc André Bouchard, appointed Bishop of Saint Paul in Alberta in 2001

References

• Official website of the diocese
• Diocese of Alexandria-Cornwall page at catholichierarchy.org retrieved July 18, 2006