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SOMBA K'E/YELLOWKNIFE
Bishop Murray Chatlain will bid an early farewell to Yellowknife and all of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Mackenzie-Fort Smith next month after being selected by Pope Benedict XVI to be the next archbishop of Keewatin-Le Pas, Manitoba.

Bishop Murray Chatlain, left, of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Mackenzie-Fort Smith was has been appointed archbishop of Keewatin-Le Pas. - Thandiwe Vela/NNSL photo

Chatlain will receive the pallium - a vestment of the archbishop made from lamb's wool worn around the neck with six crosses - from Pope Benedict in the Vatican on June 29.

Chatlain's installation to the archdiocesan seat on March 19 comes less than five years after he was ordained bishop of the diocese in Yellowknife on Sept. 14, 2008 — a post the 50-year-old bishop was expecting to serve until retirement.

"It was a complete surprise," Chatlain told Yellowknifer about the day he learned he had been selected by the Pope.

The selection was made after three names were submitted by the nuncio, or papal ambassador of Canada, to head the archdiocese covering parts of northern Saskatchewan, Manitoba and northwest Ontario, after the previous archbishop, Sylvain Lavoie, resigned last July due to illness.

Although the appointment is one step closer in the hierarchy to Pope, Chatlain had committed himself to serving as bishop of the Mackenzie-Fort Smith Diocese "for the long haul," after succeeding Bishop Emeritus Denis Croteau, who served 22 years as bishop before reaching canon law retirement age in 2007.

"Becoming a bishop of a diocese, you really commit yourself all the way because I believed I would be here until my retirement at 75," Chatlain said. "So I was planning to be here for the long haul and I had lots of things I wanted to do and places I wanted to visit yet. So there is some of that for sure, some grieving, but I know God will lead me to another place and there will be good people there as well and these people of Mackenzie, we pray for a good person to come as bishop here in the near future."

The search is now underway for a new Mackenzie-Fort Smith bishop - a process which can take from six months to five years.

Croteau, who has continued to serve in missions of the Northern diocese past retirement due to a shortage of priests, said in addition to all the qualities of good leadership, a good candidate to take over as bishop will have to be sociable, a good administrator, speaker, theologian, and someone who is familiar with the culture and people.

"Here in the North, you need someone who knows the native people, the way of life, culture. They're not going to take someone from the heart of Toronto," Croteau said. "They're trying to choose a priest who has a certain knowledge of the conditions."

Chatlain, who will continue to hold the bishop's seat concurrently with his archbishop seat until he is replaced, will be missed, Croteau said.

"He's done very well. He speaks one native language, Chipewan. He's very close to the people. He's very sociable, he's very attentive - he was excellent. Maybe that's why they moved him to a higher posting, maybe. He was very, very good," Croteau said.

"He will be missed. Even if it was for only five years, he was loved by the people."

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