Grade 7 and 8 students at École Saint-Joseph in Blind River recently had the opportunity to meet virtually the new Bishop of the Diocese of Sault Ste. Marie.
Bishop Thomas Dowd shared some interesting, often comical, stories of his life as a priest and then now as a bishop in the Catholic Church.
Usually when a new bishop is appointed, they will visit all the schools and communities, but with COVID-19, that is not an option at this time so virtual meetings are the preferred option.
Dowd was appointed as Bishop by Pope Francis last fall after serving several years in Montreal and looks forward to meeting his congregants in person once the pandemic is over.
Before entering the seminary, he obtained a university diploma in international trade at the Concordia University of Montreal.
He completed his studies in theology at the Grand séminaire of Montreal and was ordained a priest Dec. 7, 2001. Since then, he has been assistant to the Holy Name (2001-2002) and Saint Thomas Beckett parishes (2002-2004); parish administrator of the Saint Veronica parish and assistant to the Saint Luke parish (2005-2006); and chaplain of Lakeshore General Hospital (2005-2008).
Since 2005 he has worked in various offices of the Curia: for priests, vocations and the formation of pastoral agents. He was awarded a licentiate in theology at the University of Montreal, and taught theology at the Concordia University, and sacramental and liturgical theology at the Grand séminaire of Montreal.
He obtained a license in Canon Law from Strasbourg University. He knows English, French, German and Spanish.
In July 2011, he was appointed as titular bishop of Treba and Auxiliary Bishop of Montreal, and was consecrated in September 2011 in Mary Queen of the World Cathedral.
Dowd’s goal is to see all 91 parishes by the summer.
“He has fulfilled many roles within the Archdiocese of Montreal, the Association of Catholic Bishops of Quebec and the Canadian Conference of Catholic Bishops,” the release said.
“I need to see what the needs are in each area and see what we can do,” says Dowd. “We’ve got amazing technology now. I don’t see why we can’t do something really interesting despite the size of the diocese.”
Dowd is already active on social media. His Twitter account is @thomasdowd_ca. He’s also on Facebook. His blog, Waiting in Joyful Hope, is at https://bishopdowd.net/home/
“I think that technology can help bring us together,” he says. “Maybe that’s naive given what we see sometimes going on with tech, how fake news and other things seems to drive people apart. But I sincerely believe that it’s possible to have your voice out there in a positive way with tech.
“For me, it’s not about gimmicks. I would rather have an ugly blog that has nice content than something super fancy that is vacuous.
“People are curious. They want to know what’s the life of a bishop like? Personally I’m very happy. I think I’ve got a great life.”
