Archbishop of Ottawa-Cornwall
Marcel Damphousse was born on March 19, 1963, in Saint-Joseph, Manitoba. After completing his primary education, he studied psychology at Saint-Boniface University College. In 1988, he enrolled at Saint Paul University in Ottawa to study theology. He was ordained a priest on June 28, 1991, and incardinated into the Archdiocese of Saint-Boniface. Following his ordination, he served in pastoral ministry in various parishes as a parochial vicar, and from 1994 to 2000 as pastor of Notre-Dame-de-la-Nativité in Somerset. During this time, he was also appointed Chair of the Diocesan Vocations Commission. In 1996, he also became pastor of Saint-Léon. From 2000 to 2002, he lived in Rome, where he obtained a Licentiate in Spiritual Theology from the Teresianum Institute. Upon returning to the diocese, he served as a pastor; from 2003 to 2008, he again served as Diocesan Director of Vocations and as chaplain of St. Boniface High School. In 2008, he was appointed Rector of the Saint-Boniface Cathedral Basilica and a member of the Diocesan Council for Financial Affairs. He was appointed Bishop of Alexandria-Cornwall on June 16, 2012, and was consecrated on September 2 of that year. He currently serves as one of two councilors on the executive board of the Assembly of Catholic Bishops of Ontario and is a member of the Commission for Education. He is also the chaplain for the Knights of Columbus in Ontario.