The archbishop of Quebec is the head of the

Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Quebec The Archdiocese of Québec (; ) is a Latin Church ecclesiastical jurisdiction or archdiocese of the Catholic Church in Quebec, Canada. It is the oldest episcopal see in the New World north of Mexico and the Primate (bishop), primatial see of Can ...

, who is responsible for looking after its spiritual and administrative needs. As the archdiocese is the

metropolitan see Metropolitan may refer to: Areas and governance (secular and ecclesiastical) * Metropolitan archdiocese, the jurisdiction of a metropolitan archbishop ** Metropolitan bishop or archbishop, leader of an ecclesiastical "mother see" * Metropolitan ...

of the

ecclesiastical province An ecclesiastical province is one of the basic forms of jurisdiction in Christian churches, including those of both Western Christianity and Eastern Christianity, that have traditional hierarchical structures. An ecclesiastical province consist ...

encompassing the north-central part of the province of

Quebec Quebec is Canada's List of Canadian provinces and territories by area, largest province by area. Located in Central Canada, the province shares borders with the provinces of Ontario to the west, Newfoundland and Labrador to the northeast, ...

, the Archbishop of Quebec also administers the bishops who head the

suffragan diocese A suffragan diocese is one of the dioceses other than the metropolitan archdiocese that constitute an ecclesiastical province. It exists in some Christian denominations, in particular the Catholic Church, the Coptic Orthodox Church of Alexandr ...

s of

Chicoutimi Chicoutimi ( , ) is the most populous borough (arrondissement) of the city of Saguenay in Quebec, Canada. It is situated at the confluence of the Saguenay and Chicoutimi rivers. During the 20th century, it became the main administrative and ...

Sainte-Anne-de-la-Pocatière Sainte-Anne-de-la-Pocatière () is a parish municipality in the Canadian province of Quebec, located in the Kamouraska Regional County Municipality. Demographics In the 2021 Census of Population conducted by Statistics Canada, Sainte-Anne-de- ...

, and

Trois-Rivières Trois-Rivières (, ; ) is a city in the Mauricie administrative region of Quebec, Canada. It is located at the confluence of the Saint-Maurice River, Saint-Maurice and Saint Lawrence River, Saint Lawrence rivers, on the north shore of the Sain ...

. The current archbishop is Gérald Lacroix. The archdiocese began as the

Vicariate Apostolic An apostolic vicariate is a territorial jurisdiction of the Catholic Church under a titular bishop centered in missionary regions and countries where dioceses or parishes have not yet been established. The status of apostolic vicariate is often ...

New France New France (, ) was the territory colonized by Kingdom of France, France in North America, beginning with the exploration of the Gulf of Saint Lawrence by Jacques Cartier in 1534 and ending with the cession of New France to Kingdom of Great Br ...

, which was created on April 11, 1658.

François de Laval Francis-Xavier de Montmorency-Laval, commonly referred to as François de Laval (; 30 April 1623 – 6 May 1708), was a French Catholic prelate who served as Apostolic Vicar of New France from 1658 to 1674 and as Bishop of Quebec from its creat ...

was appointed its first bishop, and under his reign, the

Séminaire de Québec The Seminary of Quebec (French: , ) is a Catholic Church, Catholic community of Secular clergy, diocesan priests in Quebec City founded by Bishop François de Laval, the first bishop of New France in 1663. History The Séminaire de Québec is ...

was established. On October 1, 1674, the vicariate was elevated to the status of diocese. It was raised to the level of archdiocese on January 12, 1819, and subsequently became a

when the ecclesiastical province of Quebec was constituted in 1844. In recognition of its status as the first diocese north of

Mexico Mexico, officially the United Mexican States, is a country in North America. It is the northernmost country in Latin America, and borders the United States to the north, and Guatemala and Belize to the southeast; while having maritime boundar ...

and

New Spain New Spain, officially the Viceroyalty of New Spain ( ; Nahuatl: ''Yankwik Kaxtillan Birreiyotl''), originally the Kingdom of New Spain, was an integral territorial entity of the Spanish Empire, established by Habsburg Spain. It was one of several ...

, the Archdiocese of Quebec was designated as the country's

primatial see Primate () is a title or rank bestowed on some important archbishops in certain Christian churches. Depending on the particular tradition, it can denote either jurisdictional authority (title of authority) or (usually) ceremonial precedence (tit ...

on January 24, 1956.

Maurice Roy Maurice Roy (January 25, 1905 – October 24, 1985) was a Canadian Catholic prelate who served as Archbishop of Quebec from 1947 to 1981. He was elevated to the cardinalate in 1965. Early life Roy was born in Quebec City as one of thre ...

became the first archbishop to hold the honorific title of Primate of Canada. Fifteen men have been Archbishop of Quebec; another ten were heads of its antecedent jurisdictions. Of these, seven were members of

institutes of consecrated life An institute of consecrated life is an association of faithful in the Catholic Church canonically erected by competent church authorities to enable men or women who publicly profess the evangelical counsels by religious vows or other sacred bon ...

societies of apostolic life A society of apostolic life is a group of men or women within the Catholic Church who have come together for a specific purpose and live fraternally. It is regarded as a form of Consecrated life, consecrated (or "religious") life. This typ ...

. Eight archbishops were elevated to the

College of Cardinals The College of Cardinals (), also called the Sacred College of Cardinals, is the body of all cardinals of the Catholic Church. there are cardinals, of whom are eligible to vote in a conclave to elect a new pope. Appointed by the pope, ...

. Louis-Philippe Mariauchau d'Esgly, the eighth

ordinary Ordinary or The Ordinary often refer to: Music * ''Ordinary'' (EP) (2015), by South Korean group Beast * ''Ordinary'' (album) (2011), by Every Little Thing * "Ordinary" (Alex Warren song) (2025) * "Ordinary" (Two Door Cinema Club song) (2016 ...

of the archdiocese, was the first bishop to be born in

Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its Provinces and territories of Canada, ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, making it the world's List of coun ...

. His immediate successor,

Jean-François Hubert Jean-François Hubert, (February 23, 1739 – October 17, 1797), bishop of Quebec, trained at the Sulpician seminary in Montreal. He was taken under the protection of Bishop Dubreil and served for a time as the bishop's secretary. Life Jean- ...

, whose

episcopacy A bishop is an ordained member of the clergy who is entrusted with a position of authority and oversight in a religious institution. In Christianity, bishops are normally responsible for the governance and administration of dioceses. The role ...

spanned from 1788 to 1797, was the first bishop born in

Quebec City Quebec City is the capital city of the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian province of Quebec. As of July 2021, the city had a population of 549,459, and the Census Metropolitan Area (including surrounding communities) had a populati ...

Jean-Baptiste de La Croix de Chevrières de Saint-Vallier Jean-Baptiste de La Croix de Chevrières de St. Vallier (November 14, 1653 – December 26, 1727) was a French Catholic prelate who served as the second bishop of the Diocese of Quebec in the French colony of New France. Born in Grenoble, Fra ...

had the longest tenure as Bishop of Quebec, serving for 39 years from 1688 to 1727, while

Paul-Eugène Roy Paul-Eugène Roy (8 November 1859 – 20 February 1926) was a Canadian Roman Catholic priest, and Archbishop of Quebec. External links * Catholic-Hierarchy entry* 1859 births 1926 deaths Roman Catholic archbishops of Quebec 20th- ...

held the position for seven months (1925–1926), marking the shortest archiepiscopacy.

List of ordinaries

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Apostolic Vicars of New France

Bishops of Quebec

Archbishops of Quebec

Notes

References

General * * Footnotes Bibliography * {{featured list * Christianity in Quebec

Roman Catholic archbishops Roman or Romans most often refers to: *Rome, the capital city of Italy *Ancient Rome, Roman civilization from 8th century BC to 5th century AD *Roman people, the people of Roman civilization *Epistle to the Romans, shortened to Romans, a letter w ...