Bishop John A. Boissonneau is set to mark 25 years of episcopal service with a joyful Anniversary Mass at St. Michael’s Cathedral Basilica on June 3, where Cardinal Frank Leo will preside and more than 500 guests gather to celebrate Toronto’s longest-serving Auxiliary Bishop. 

There, at the archdiocese’s mother church, more than 150 priests, 20 bishops, the papal nuncio, former classmates, family, friends, representatives from lay movements, religious women and men, leaders from the field of education, seminaries and more will join together in celebrating 25 years since Boissonneau's episcopal ordination.  

While grand in attendance and gesture, Boissonneau brings an air of humility to the milestone. A self-described simple boy from Scarborough who once wanted nothing more than to be a priest, he now reflects on the lifetime of trust he has built around that vocation, as well as a senior brother following his time happily serving as rector of St. Augustine’s Seminary. 

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“While the actual ceremony itself is a lovely and powerful moment, it doesn't define a bishop's episcopacy. When I was at the seminary, the key word and motivation that I was encouraging in the seminarians was trust. They have to trust the Lord, their bishops, the community, and that was my motivation as rector,” he told The Catholic Register. 

“When I was asked to be made a bishop in 2001, I then had to trust when the Lord invited me to move forward with Him. My episcopal motto in English is, ‘So that your trust may be in the Lord.’ I still think that's the most important thing, because after it is just a question of continually renewing that trust.” 

It has been that trust in the Lord that has helped sustain Boissonneau, for 27 years after his ordination to the priesthood in 1974 and now his last 25 years as bishop. Through more than five decades of service to the Church, Boissonneau has found many great joys he reflects upon. 

“The collaboration with the priests, who are eager to work with the bishop under his direction,  that collaboration and support has allowed for tremendous work in this huge and diverse archdiocese. The efforts they make in individual parishes, to attend zone meetings and retreats, all of these things are very important because we have to work to be intentional in our community, both at the parish and presbyteral levels,” he said.  

Boissonneau has also been the delegate for the Order of Consecrated Virgins for 20 years, a hidden but growing vocation he has taken great pride in serving. 

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“ When I was chancellor under Cardinal (Aloysius) Ambrozic, I began drawing them together, supporting them and supervising their formation. They're a hidden treasure in every diocese, not just in Toronto, but all across Canada and the United States, where the  Lord is calling women to take up the earliest form of consecrated life. It may be hidden, but it’s still powerful, and that's been a special joy for me,” he said. 

As for what has sustained his zeal all these years, Boissonneau notes the ongoing support from priests and the people around him, as well as his continual prayer life. He also highlighted his growing understanding of a bishop’s role, appreciating Pope Francis’ description of a bishop as a witness to the Gospel and overseer of collaboration. 

The Archdiocese of Toronto has echoed that gratitude back to its shepherd.

“We are immensely grateful for the incredible contributions Bishop Boissonneau has made both as priest and bishop in service to the faithful of the Archdiocese of Toronto. What a blessing it has been to have him serve as shepherd to so many in the flock over the years,” the archdiocese said in a statement to the Register. 

As the Anniversary Mass approaches, one he hopes is less of a celebration of him personally, but of the Archdiocese of Toronto and all who serve it, Boissonneau extends a message to both priests and seminarians — backed by 25 years of episcopal trust. 

“For the priests, I encourage them to root themselves in their parish, the definition of the spirituality of a diocesan priest. I hope that they see themselves in that role as servants in helping in truth and charity. For the seminarians, they too have to see themselves as servants of the parish, not only in the sense of being teachers and shepherds and so forth, but also bring the people to holiness,” he said. 

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Reflecting on a mission laid out, the same one that he continues to follow himself, Boissonneau looked back with more of his characteristic humility. When asked what the young boy from Scarborough, who had met a bishop only twice in his life, would think about seeing where the journey of trust has led, he answered simply.

“He’d be surprised to see what and who a priest really is, because that is something you learn (with time). He would be even more surprised, I think, (to see) a bishop.”