Canada's Catholic bishops chose Archbishop Brendan O'Brien of St. John's, Newfoundland, as the 30th president of their episcopal conference.
Archbishop O'Brien, who served as vice president for the past two years, succeeds Bishop Jacques Berthelet, who has just completed his two-year term. He will be the first bishop from Newfoundland and Labrador to serve as president, the conference said today.
Born in Ottawa in 1943, Brendan O'Brien was ordained to the priesthood in 1968 and named auxiliary bishop of Ottawa in 1987, bishop of Pembroke in 1993, and archbishop of St. John's in 2000. He has served on numerous bishops' commissions, including social affairs, ecumenism, theology and relations with associations.
The new vice president elected is Archbishop André Gaumond of Sherbrooke, Quebec.