KAMLOOPS - Kamloops Bishop David Monroe suffered severe head and body injuries when he was attacked Oct. 22 by a man he was comforting in the rectory of Sacred Heart Cathedral.

At press time, Monroe was in serious but stable condition at Royal Inland Hospital in Kamloops.

“It was the most brutal beating I have ever seen,” said Kamloops Vicar General Msgr. Jerry Desmond,  who administered the sacrament of the Anointing of the Sick to the bishop two hours after he was admitted to hospital.

Police were called to Sacred Heart Cathedral when the bishop was found bleeding profusely in the rectory after admitting a man apparently unknown to him. At around 10 p.m., the alleged assailant encountered a parishioner outside the cathedral next to the rectory and requested a priest. Monroe admitted the man to the rectory by the front door and led him into the kitchen.