The Military Ordinariate of Canada (French: Diocèse militaire du Canada, Latin: Ordinariatus Militaris Canadensis) is a military ordinariate of the Roman Catholic Church. Immediately subject to the Holy See, it provides pastoral care to Roman Catholics serving in the Canadian Forces and their families.
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The military vicariate of Canada was canonically erected on 17 February 1951 by Pope Pius XII. The local ordinary carries the honorary rank of Major-General. Its offices are located at the Uplands site in Ottawa. The current bishop is Donald Thériault. The Chaplain-General of Canada is also a General, the Brigadier-General Karl McLean. Colonel John Fletcher was installed as Archdeacon of the Anglican Military Ordinariate of Canada in November 2010. [1]
The need to appoint a bishop had only felt during the Second World War, while chaplains had already been represented since the Boer War. Since the promulgation of the apostolic constitution Spirituali militum curae by Pope John Paul II, the administration of chaplaincies was made much easier. Catholic chaplains are grouped within the Interfaith Committee on Canadian Military Chaplaincy (ICCMC). They may baptize soldiers and their children and lead memorial services.
Similar services are also granted to Jews, Muslims and Protestants.
The Anglican Military Ordinariate of Canada has sponsored the Ivor Norris Bursary for over twenty-five years. This bursary program comes under the administrative purview of the Military Ordinariate of Canada and is awarded annually to applicants who have a personal connection to the Canadian Forces through personal military service (past or present), being married to or the child of someone with past or current service. The applicant must be enrolled in theological studies leading toward ordination and sponsored by a Bishop for ordination within the Anglican Church of Canada. [2]
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