With great cause for rejoicing, I announce that today that our Holy Father, Pope Francis has named Reverend Michael Brehl, C.S.s.R. as the 10th Bishop of Pembroke. Father Brehl was born in Toronto in 1955 and entered the Congregation of the Most Holy Redeemer (Redemptorists) in 1975. He professed vows as a Redemptorist on August 15, 1976, and was ordained priest on March 15, 1980. Father Brehl currently serves as Provincial Superior of the Canadian Province of the Redemptorists, a role that he held for the Edmonton-Toronto Province from 2002-2009. In addition to many years in parish ministry, preaching missions and the formation of novices, Father Brehl served two terms as the Redemptorist Superior General in Rome from 2009-2022.

The episcopal ordination and canonical possession will take place at the Cathedral of St. Columbkille in Pembroke on Thursday, August 15, 2024, the solemnity of the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary, at ten o’clock in the morning.

Following in the footsteps of Archbishop Guy Desrochers, C.S.s.R., this will be the second member of the Redemptorist Congregation that the Lord has bestowed upon the Diocese of Pembroke. Please join with me in prayers of thanksgiving for the appointment of our bishop-elect and may Our Lady of Perpetual Help guide and protect him as he prepares to assume the graces and duties of the episcopal office.

Rev. George Ryan Holly

11 June 2024

Press release from CCCB :

11 June 2024 – Ottawa – Today, His Holiness Pope Francis has appointed the Reverend Father Michael Brehl, C.Ss.R., presently Provincial Superior of the Redemptorist of Canada, as the new Bishop of Pembroke.

Father Brehl was born on 7 January 1955 in Toronto, Ontario. Entering the Congregation of the Most Holy Redeemer in 1975, he pursued his academic endeavors at the University of St. Michael’s College in Toronto, earning his B.A. in philosophy and completing his M. Div. studies.

He professed his vows as a Redemptorist on 15 August 1976, followed by his ordination to the priesthood on 15 March 1980.

Over the years, he has served in various ministerial capacities.

From 1979 to 1983, he served as an Associate Pastor at St. Teresa’s Parish in St. John’s, Newfoundland and Labrador, before joining the Redemptorist Itinerant Parish Mission Team in Toronto from 1983 to 1987. He then assumed the role of Pastor at Holy Redeemer Parish in Sudbury, Ontario, from 1987 to 1990.

In subsequent years, he served as the Novice Director and Formation Director for the Redemptorist order in Windsor and Toronto, respectively.

Transitioning back to pastoral ministry, he served as Pastor of Holy Redeemer Parish in Sudbury once again from 2000 to 2002. He assumed the role of Provincial Superior for the Edmonton-Toronto Province from 2002 to 2009.

He served as the Redemptorist Superior General in Rome, Italy, from 2009 to 2022. He continued his pastoral ministry as an Associate Pastor at St. Patrick’s Parish from 2023 to 2024, in Toronto. Currently, he serves as the Provincial Superior of the Canadian Redemptorist Province.

The Diocese of Pembroke is served by 65 diocesan and religious priests, 12 permanents deacons, as well as 1 consecrated man and 60 consecrated women serving a population of over 60,000 Catholics in 55 parishes and missions.