Archdiocese of Winnipeg

The Archdiocese of Winnipeg (Latin: Archidioecesis Vinnipegensis) is a Latin Church ecclesiastical territory or archdiocese of the Catholic Church that includes part of the province of Manitoba, Canada. The archdiocese is the only diocese of the Latin Church in Canada that is immediately exempt to the Holy See, as it is not part of an ecclesiastical province.^[1] Located on the west side of the Red River, the Archdiocese of Winnipeg was created from the Archdiocese of Saint Boniface.

Archdiocese of Winnipeg Archidioecesis Vinnipegensis
St. Mary's Cathedral
Coat of Arms
Location
Country	Canada
Ecclesiastical province	Immediately exempt to the Holy See[1]
Deaneries	Central Winnipeg North Winnipeg South Winnipeg Interlake Westman Parkland
Headquarters	1495 Pembina Highway, Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada
Statistics
Population	162,276
Parishes	88
Schools	16
Information
Denomination	Catholic Church
Sui iuris church	Latin Church
Rite	Roman Rite
Established	1915
Cathedral	St. Mary's Cathedral in Winnipeg
Patron saint	St. Joseph
Secular priests	58 (diocesan) 13 (members of religious orders)
Current leadership
Pope	Leo XIV
Archbishop	Murray Chatlain
Bishops emeritus	James Vernon Weisgerber Richard Gagnon
Website
archwinnipeg.ca

As of 2025, the archdiocese contains 88 parishes and missions, 58 active diocesan priests, 13 religious priests, and 162,276 Catholics. It also has 19 religious brothers and sisters, and 20 permanent deacons.^[2] The cathedral of the archdiocese is St. Mary's Cathedral in Winnipeg. The archbishop of Winnipeg is Murray Chatlain. He was installed on April 4, 2025.

History

The Archdiocese was created in 1915 by Pope Benedict XV in his bull Inter praecipuas. Unusually, this bull made the archdiocese exempt and subject immediately to the Holy See. Historian John M. Reid Jr. suggests that this decision was made due to ethnic conflicts in Winnipeg between Irish and French Catholics. The existing Archdiocese of St. Boniface was traditionally Francophone.^{[3]: 90–91}

Bishops

The following is a list of the bishops and archbishops of Winnipeg and their terms of service:

Archbishops

• Arthur Alfred Sinnott (1915–1952)
• Philip Francis Pocock (1952–1961), appointed Coadjutor Archbishop of Toronto, Ontario
• George Flahiff (1960–1982)
• Adam Exner (1982–1991), appointed Archbishop of Vancouver, British Columbia
• Leonard James Wall (1992–2000)
• James Weisgerber (2000–2013)
• Richard Gagnon (2014–2024)^[4]
• Murray Chatlain (2024–present)

Coadjutor bishops

• Gerald C. Murray (1944–1951), did not succeed to the see
• Philip Francis Pocock (1951–1952)

Auxiliary bishops

• Francis Ryder Wood (1940-1943?), did not take effect

Priests of this diocese who became bishops

• Charles Aimé Halpin, appointed Archbishop of Regina in 1973

See also

• Catholicism portal
• Canada portal

• Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Saint Boniface
• Ukrainian Catholic Archeparchy of Winnipeg