(LifeSiteNews) — Pope Leo XIV has appointed the pro-synodality president of the Canadian Conference of Catholic Bishops (CCCB), Pierre Goudreault, as bishop of Trois-Rivières in Quebec.
Under Goudreault’s leadership, the CCCB invited Archbishop Lizardo Estrada Herrera, who attended a ritual offering to Pachamama this year, to give “reflections on synodality.”
Goudreault noted in a letter to Pope Leo on September 21, 2026, that Herrera’s keynote address would “offer a concrete point of reference, as we consider how synodality could be further strengthened in the Church in Canada.”
At the time, during the opening of the CCCB Plenary Assembly in Montreal, he cited “the ongoing implementation of synodality in the Church in Canada” among the past year’s achievements.
The Vatican announced the appointment of Goudreault, 63, on Tuesday. The prelate has been president of the CCCB since 2025 and will serve his term until 2027.
Pope Francis appointed Goudreault as bishop of Sainte-Anne-de-la-Pocatière in December 2017, and he was consecrated a bishop on March 10, 2018. He was elected vice-president of the CCCB in 2023.
Under Goudreault, the CCCB in June issued a document urging Catholics to remain “firm in their opposition” to euthanasia and assisted suicide, which has become a growing problem in Canada since its legalization there over 10 years ago.
In December 2025, Goudreault signed a letter from Canadian bishops to the country’s prime minister, warning against legislation that could treat religious expression as a “hate crime.” The letter argued that real hatred can be tackled without undermining “the constitutional rights of millions of Canadians who draw moral and spiritual guidance from their religious traditions.”
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