Fr. Albert LeGatt named Bishop for Diocese of Saskatoon
The Roman Catholic Diocese of Saskatoon will soon have a new bishop.
The Pope John Paul II has appointed Fr. Albert LeGatt from the diocesen clergy of Prince Albert as the new Bishop of Saskatoon.
"I am equally happy and humbled to have been appointed Bishop of the Diocese of Saskatoon by His Holiness, Pope John Paul II," said LeGatt. "Coming from a neighbouring diocese, I have often had the opportunity to observe the richness and vitality of the Diocese of Saskatoon and its laity, its clergy and its religious. I look forward in the next while to meeting many people of this diocese, getting to know them and listening to their hopes and challenges for this Church we treasure as the People of God and the Body of Christ."
Fr. Ron Beechinor, administrator for the Diocese of Saskatoon, said the appointment of the new bishop was very good news.
"In the 38 years I have been a priest of the diocese, I have served with Bishop Klein, Bishop Mahoney, and Bishop Wiesgerber. We have been blessed by receiving strong leadership from these bishops. It is my hope and my belief that that strong, faith-filled leadership will continue with Bishop Elect LeGatt," he said.
As he accepts this new position, LeGatt said has identified three areas that are close to his heart. One is simply that he get to know the people, their history and the current situation in the diocese.
"Wherever I have gone in parishes, that has always made the difference. That's what I've most enjoyed in all the parishes I've been in, getting to know people and work with people and I've found we're grace-filled people. Christ is in all of us and we need to see that and that feeds our joy."
Secondly, LeGatt said he sees a need to continue to build Christian communities within the parishes
"We need that human dimension of shared faith and that's increasingly important in a world that's more individualistic," he said.
Finally, he says we need to recognize that the church is not a church in isolation.
"We need for the church to be in the world, as a sign of God's love and healing and justice," he said.
Bishop elect LeGatt was born in 1953 in Melfort Saskatchewan and grew up on the family farm near Pathlow. He attended St. Brieux School and Notre Dame College before heading to St. Boniface College at the University of Manitoba. There he obtained a bachelor of Arts with majors in Philosophy and French in 1974.
He served as a Canadian University Service Overseas (CUSO) volunteer from 1974-77, teaching French at a secondary technical school in Ghana, West Africa.
Following that experience, he entered the seminary at Le Grand Seminaire de Quebec in 1977 and pursued studies in theology at Laval. As part of the preparation for priesthood, he served as an intern at Debden from 1980-1982 and was ordained on June 19, 1983  in St Brieux.
LeGatt has served in several parishes including Prince Albert's Sacred Heart Cathedral, St. Michael, and St. Joseph as well as St. James in Albertville. He has also been involved in the Diocese of Prince Albert as Diocesan Consultor, Director of Vocations and Coordinator of the Diocesan Liturgical Commission.
LeGatt is currently on study leave, pursuing a Masters in Liturgical Studies at the University of Notre Dame in South Bend, Indiana.