Couples For Christ Calgary

Dear Couples for Christ Canada and its Family Ministries,

Pax Christi!

It is with great joy that I share this wonderful news to all of you!

Following a recent request, the Canadian Conference of Catholic Bishops (CCCB) has officially appointed Most Reverend Marcel Damphousse, Archbishop of Ottawa–Cornwall, to serve as the National Spiritual Advisor for Couples for Christ Canada for a first three-year renewable term (June 2026 - June 2029).

We are deeply grateful to the CCCB for this recognition of our mission and for providing us with the pastoral guidance of Archbishop Damphousse for an initial three-year term. His appointment is a significant blessing for our community as we continue our work in service of Christian family life across the country.

Please join me in prayer as we welcome Archbishop Damphousse into this role. We look forward to the wisdom and support he will bring to our community as we continue to grow and serve the Church together.

We would also like to thank Most Reverend Michael Miller, Archbishop Emeritus of Vancouver, who served as our previous National Spiritual Advisor. We are grateful for his guidance, especially throughout the pandemic.

In Christ,

Manny Canete
National Director

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Biography of ARCHBISHOP MARCEL DAMPHOUSSE

Born on March 19, 1963, in Saint-Joseph, Manitoba, Archbishop Marcel Damphousse was ordained a priest on June 28, 1991, for the Archdiocese of Saint-Boniface. He served in a number of French and English parishes throughout the Archdiocese before being appointed Rector of the Cathedral in 2008. Archbishop Damphousse earned a Bachelor’s degree in psychology in 1984 at the University College of Saint-Boniface, followed by a Bachelor’s degree in theology in 1989 from Saint-Paul University, in Ottawa.

He received his formation for the priesthood at Saint-Paul’s Seminary, in Ottawa. In 2002, he earned a licentiate in spiritual theology from the Teresianum in Rome.

For a number of years, His Excellency taught at the Manitoba Catholic School of Evangelization and was vocations director for more than 12 years. Before being appointed Rector of the Cathedral, he was chaplain at Saint-Boniface Diocesan High School for five years.

On June 28, 2012, His Holiness Pope Benedict XVI appointed the Reverend Marcel Damphousse as Bishop of Alexandria-Cornwall. He was ordained bishop on September 2, 2012, in St. Finnan’s Cathedral in Alexandria, Ontario. On November 12, 2015, His Holiness Pope Francis appointed Bishop Damphousse as the sixth Bishop of the Diocese of Sault Ste. Marie, Ontario.

On May 6, 2020, Archbishop Marcel Damphousse was named the coadjutor archbishop of the newly created Archdiocese of Ottawa-Cornwall. He succeeded Archbishop Terrence Prendergast following the latter’s retirement on December 3, 2020.