New bishop for NWT Catholics
Rev. Msgr. Mark Hagemoen has been named Bishop
of the Mackenzie-Fort Smith Diocese
Jeanne Gagnon
Northern News Services
Published Monday, October 21, 2013
NORTHWEST TERRITORIES
Visiting catholic schools in the hot, humid weather of Sri Lanka, Rev. Msgr. Mark Hagemoen dreamed of cooler climates.
Mark Hagemoen: New Bishop of the Mackenzie-Fort Smith Diocese. - |
He got his wish while visiting the south Asian country when Pope Francis appointed him bishop of the Mackenzie-Fort Smith Diocese on Oct. 15. The diocese covers the Northwest Territories, part of northern Saskatchewan and part of the Kitikmeot region of Nunavut.
The diocese became vacant in December 2012 when then Bishop Murray Chatlain was named Archbishop of Keewatin-Le Pas.
Hagemoen said he always loved adventure.
"I am excited about the adventure, but I think the adventure, as much as the land, is exciting. Ultimately, the people are the most exciting," he said.
"So I am looking forward to the adventure of entering into the lives of new people, and looking how we can live and grow together."
Born and raised in Vancouver, Hagemoen was ordained priest for the Archdiocese of Vancouver in May 1990. The bishop-elect is President of Corpus Christi and St. Mark's Colleges, the University of British Columbia's Catholic arts colleges in Vancouver.
His next adventure, which Hagemoen describes as a different call to service, is the first Canadian episcopal appointment Pope Francis has made. Hagemoen will head a diocese with 37 parishes and missions and a catholic population of 20,110.
Canon Law dictates he must take his new role as bishop no later than three months after the announcement is made. This would be mid-January, but Hagemoen said he hopes to be in Yellowknife before Christmas.
"My first order of business has to be a deliberate time of meeting and listening to people," he said, adding he hopes to visit every area of the diocese.
"I know that would take some time. I also know the distances are great there and that might be a bigger challenge than, certainly, a location in the southern part of Canada, but I think that must be a first order of business, a first priority."
Many people doing lots of good things are part of the diocese, said Hagemoen, so meeting them, hearing about what they are doing, their concerns and challenges is important.
The new adventure for Hagemoen comes with practical and personal challenges as well as opportunities. People think going from a warm to cold climate might be the biggest challenge, but he said this remains to be seen, as he has spent time in the Yukon.
"Being comfortable in the wider open spaces is not new for me. But what will be new for me is,unlike the mountainous areas of British Columbia, the terrain is very open and vast in the Northwest Territories. It certainly has its own beauty," said Hagemoen.
"I think there is also spiritual graces and challenges that come with being in that kind of environment, especially as one deals with the silence, the stillness, the vastness, the relative quiet of the North."
In Inuvik, Father Magnus Chilaka, pastor of Our Lady of Victory Catholic Church, said he has not met Hagemoen personally.
"I am so glad we have a new bishop now, because we have been waiting for a long time," he said. "My prayers go (out) for him and that God will bless him, Also grant him the grace to carry out the new job."
Heading south toward the territorial capital, Father Angelo Benedict Ubanii, pastor of St. Patrick's Roman Catholic Church, said: "We have been praying for it for quite a long time. I believe God has answered our prayers."
