It is with great joy that the Diocese of Saint John received the official announcement earlier today that Pope Francis has appointed the Most Revered Christian Riesbeck, CC to succeed the Most Reverend Robert Harris as Bishop of Saint John. Bishop Riesbeck has been serving as the Auxiliary Bishop of Ottawa since his episcopal ordination in 2014.
Bishop Riesbeck was born in Montreal on February 7, 1970. He attended the University of Ottawa from which he obtained a Bachelor of Social Sciences (B. Soc. Sc.) in Political Science, followed by a Baccalaureate in Sacred Theology (S.T.B.) from Saint Paul University in Ottawa and a Master of Divinity (M.Div.) fro, St Augustine’s Seminary in Scarborough. He was ordained to the priesthood in Ottawa for the Companions of the Cross on October 12, 1996
After serving in pastoral ministry 9im the Archdioceses of Kingston, Ottawa and Galveston-Houston, Texas (nine years as pastor) from 1996 to 2008, Bishop Riesbeck completed additional studies in Canon Law (J.CL. – Saint Paul University) in December 2010. In January 2011, he was appointed Chancellor and later Episcopal Vicar for Canonical Concerns for the Archdioceses of Ottawa, ad a judge of the Ottawa Regional Marriage Tribunal. He also served as the Assistant General Superior of the Companions of the Cross from 2012 – 2014. Following the announcement made by Pope Francis on January 7, 2014, Bishop Riesbeck was ordained to the episcopate on March 19 as Auxiliary Bishop of Ottawa. He has held the offices of Vicar General, Vicar for the National Language Parishes, Communities and Faithful, Moderator of the Curia, and most recently, Coordinator of English Pastoral Services.
Bishop Riesbeck’s installation as Bishop of Saint John will be celebrated at the Cathedral of the Immaculate Conception in Saint John on Monday, December 9, 2019.
We join with Bishop Harris in welcoming Bishop Riesbeck to New Brunswick and to the Diocese of Saint John, and we pray for God’s blessings upon him and his episcopal ministry in this diocese.