Terrence Thomas Prendergast, SJ (born 19 February 1944) is Archbishop of Ottawa, Canada. He was formerly Auxiliary Bishop of Toronto and Archbishop of Halifax.
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A native of Montreal, he entered the Jesuit novitiate in 1961 and was ordained a priest in 1972. He holds a Bachelor of Arts degree from Fordham University, as well as the Master of Divinity and Doctor of Theology degrees from Saint Mary's University, Halifax through its earlier affiliation with Regis College, Toronto School of Theology.
Prendergast taught in Halifax at the Atlantic School of Theology from 1975-1981, then was Rector of Toronto's Regis College from 1981-87, and its Dean of Theology from 1991 - 1994. From 1992-94 he assisted Bishop Frederick Henry (now of Calgary) in conducting an apostolic visitation of English-language Canadian seminaries for the Vatican. At the time of his nomination as Auxiliary Bishop of Toronto in 1995, he was Visiting Professor at the Ecole Biblique in Jerusalem.
Named Titular Bishop of Slebte and Auxiliary Bishop of Toronto on February 22, 1995, Prendergast was ordained a bishop in St. Michael's Cathedral, Toronto, on April 25, 1995. In Toronto, his duties as auxiliary included responsibility for the Western Pastoral Region (Etobicoke, part of North York and the region of Peel-Dufferin), liaison with the theological faculties and planning the preparations for the Great Jubilee.
He was installed as Archbishop of Halifax on September 14, 1998. The Archbishop of Halifax oversees dioceses in the province of Nova Scotia and Prince Edward Island. In addition, Prendergast served as Chancellor of Saint Mary's University, Halifax, a position granted to the serving Archbishop of Halifax until 2007, when the archdiocese and the university agreed to instead bestow the title of Visitor.
Prendergast was named as the new Archbishop of Ottawa by Pope Benedict XVI on 14 May 2007 and was installed on June 26, 2007.
After serving on the Canadian Bishops' Commission for Relations with Associations of Clergy, Consecrated Life and Laity, Bishop Prendergast is now a member of the CCCB Theology Commission and co-chair of the national Anglican-Roman Catholic dialogue. Aside from other pastoral involvements, Bishop Prendergast is a teacher, writer and retreat giver. For several years he has written a weekly Scripture column in the Catholic Register; he has been a writer or editor for several journals, and lectured and given retreats across Canada, in the U.S. and Rome.
Archbishop Prendergast has a sister and three brothers, and is devoted to his many nieces and nephews, as well as to his Jesuit religious family. His hobbies include squash, cycling, skating, foreign films and Italian cooking.
Archbishop Prendergast is part of the Apostolic visitation to Ireland which began in 2010.
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| Preceded by Marcel André J. Gervais |
Archbishop of Ottawa 2007–present |
Incumbent |