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June 9, 2025
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One month beyond hitting the century mark in age, Archbishop James MacDonald, C.S.C., passed on May 30.
The Archbishop Emeritus of St. John’s died at Hotel Dieu Shaver Hospital in St. Catharines, Ont., following a lengthy illness.
A native of Whycocomagh, N.S., Archbishop MacDonald entered the Congregation of the Holy Cross following high school, completing his novitiate in Massachusetts and then going on to study at the University of Notre Dame. His theological formation was completed at Ste. Genevieve de Pierrefonds, Que., and he was ordained to the priesthood in Woodstock, Ont., in 1953.
Teaching, formation and leadership roles would follow, as well as pastoral service, before he was named Auxiliary Bishop of Hamilton in 1978. Just four years later he was appointed Bishop of Charlottetown by Pope John Paul II where he would serve nine years until his appointment as Archbishop of St. John’s on Feb. 2, 1991. Archbishop MacDonald would lead the Newfoundland and Labrador archdiocese until his retirement in 2000, when he relocated to Windsor, Ont, where he continued pastoral ministry in the Hamilton and London dioceses.
He would eventually take up residence with the Holy Cross community in 2013.
Over the years, Archbishop MacDonald served in a wide range of roles with the Canadian Conference of Catholic Bishops, including as co-treasurer and on numerous commissions, and in 1994 was the CCCB delegate at the Synod of Bishops in Rome.
A funeral Mass for Archbishop MacDonald was celebrated June 7, followed by interment at Holy Cross Cemetery.
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Photo courtesy Archdiocese of Vancouver
