STATEMENT OF MOST REVEREND DANIEL J. BOHAN

ARCHBISHOP-ELECT OF REGINA

30 March 2005

First of all, I must express my gratitude to the Holy Father, Pope John Paul II, for the confidence that he has placed in me and in my ministry to the Church.  I am well aware of the responsibility that he has entrusted to me in appointing me to be Pastor to God’s People in the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Regina.I have been very blessed in my many years of work as a priest in the Archdiocese of Moncton, and in my two years as Auxiliary Bishop of the Archdiocese of Toronto.  People have kindly welcomed my ministry, and I have met faithful and dedicated priests and laity with whom I was privileged to work and to live the Christian life.

I sincerely thank His Eminence Cardinal Ambrozic for his welcome to me into the Archdiocese of Toronto two years ago, and to Bishop Grecco and Bishop Boissonneau for their gracious and patient support and example.  I do not believe I could have found a better school in which to learn episcopal ministry or more excellent teachers to learn from.  I know that I now have much more to bring the people of Regina as their Pastor because of my work in this Diocese.

I must also express my great appreciation to the priests of Toronto and in particular the priests of my pastoral region.  I was honoured to work with such dedicated and hard-working servants of God’s People, and I thank them for their collaboration and their support.

The call to be Archbishop of Regina presents new and interesting challenges, both in my ministry and in my life.  I am moving yet farther away from the salt sea air of the Maritimes.  Nevertheless, I know that the prairies of Saskatchewan have their own beauty which I look forward to discovering.  In my years as Pastor I have learned that every place where God’s People come together presents the opportunity to get to know wonderful and faith-filled people and the dedicated priests who serve them.  I know that this will be the case in Regina, and I look forward to my arrival there.

I pray that God’s grace will help me provide the leadership and service to God’s Holy People in the Archdiocese of Regina that they need to live their calling as Christians in our world today.