Pope Francis today named a new bishop for the Diocese of Prince Albert, Canada, Father Stephen Hero. At the time of his appointment, Father Hero was rector of Saint Joseph’s Seminary in Edmonton.
He replaces retiring Bishop Albert Thévenot, M.Afr. Bishop Thévenot had been Bishop of Prince Albert for 13 years. He tendered his resignation to the Holy Father when he turned 75, as prescribed in canon 401 of the Code of Canon Law.
Born December 19, 1969, in Lachine, Quebec, Bishop-elect, Mgr Hero, obtained a Bachelor of Arts in Philosophy (1994) from the Seminary of Christ the King in Mission, British Columbia, and then went to study at Pontifical University of Saint Thomas Aquinas ( Angelicum), in Rome, where he obtained a bachelor’s degree in theology (1998) and a license in theology (2000). He was ordained a priest on June 29, 2000, for the Archdiocese of Edmonton, where he served as parish vicar and director of vocations for the archdiocese. He returned to Rome to continue his studies and obtained a license in liturgical theology at the Pontifical Liturgical Institute, in Sant ‘Anselmo (2005). Upon his return to Edmonton in 2005, he was a member of the Saint Joseph Seminary training team, as well as a lecturer at Newman Theological College in the areas of spirituality, liturgy, and sacraments. In 2010, he was appointed vice-rector of Séminaire Saint-Joseph, then he was appointed rector in 2012.
Bishop Albert Thévenot, M.Afr.Bishop Thévenot is originally from Somerset (Manitoba) and entered the Missionaries of Africa as a brother in 1964. He was ordained a priest in 1980, then he began his pastoral ministry by working in various parishes and missions in Africa. . He spent several years promoting missions in western Canada before returning to Africa, where he served as pastor and served in administrative functions for the Missionaries of Africa. Before being appointed bishop in 2008, he was national secretary of the Pontifical Missionary Work of the French Sector for the Propagation of the Faith (Missio Canada), and later was elected Provincial Superior for North America of the Society of Missionaries of Africa.
As a member of the Canadian Conference of Catholic Bishops (CCCB), Bishop Thévenot was a member of the Dialogue of Anglican and Catholic Bishops (2009-2021) and of the Commission for Evangelization and Catechesis of the English Sector (2011-2017).
The Diocese of Prince Albert has 82 parishes and missions, with a Catholic population of 39,238 people served by 35 diocesan priests, as well as 4 priests and 40 sisters who are members of institutes of consecrated life, as well as 13 permanent deacons.
