|
|
Home
> Archbishop Daniel Bohan
The
Most Reverend Daniel J. Bohan was appointed seventh Archbishop of the
Regina Archdiocese by Pope John Paul II on March 30, 2005.
Prior to his appointment to Regina Archbishop Bohan was Auxiliary Bishop
of Toronto.
He was born November 8, 1941 the first of what became a family of seven
children in Yarmouth, Nova Scotia where his father was stationed during
the war. The family moved to Moncton, New Brunswick after the war and it
was there Daniel Bohan received his early education. He entered the Holy
Heart Seminary in Halifax, Nova Scotia shortly after graduating from St.
Thomas University, Chatham, New Brunswick, in 1963, with a Bachelor of
Arts Degree. He was ordained to the priesthood May 13, 1967 and that same
year received a Bachelor of Theology degree from Holy Heart Seminary. He
also obtained a Bachelor of Sacred Theology from Université Laval, Quebec
and a Masters of Theology from the University of Notre Dame, South Bend,
Indiana.
He was appointed Auxiliary Bishop of Toronto, Ontario May 14, 2003 and
Titular of Migirpa and ordained to the Episcopate July 3, 2003 at St.
Augustine Church, Moncton.
Archbishop Bohan served as pastor in several parishes in New Brunswick
prior to his appointment as Auxiliary Bishop of Toronto. He was professor
of Moral Theology at Holy Heart Seminary from 1968-69. He also served as
Episcopal Vicar for Anglophones in the Archdiocese of Moncton in 2000, was
appointed to the Maritime Conference of the United Church of Canada in
1999 as the Roman Catholic representative on the Gospel, Ecumenism and
Theology Committee. He is also a board member of the Atlantic School of
Theology. In 2003 he was named to the Canadian Conference of Catholic
Bishops as a member of the Social Affairs Commission and shortly after his
appointment as Auxiliary Bishop of Toronto was named as Episcopal Vicar
for Religious, Chair of the Pastoral Mission Fund and Director of the
Martyrs’ Shrine Board.
By Frank Flegel
Coat of Arms
 Or a fess Azure charged with a Rose Argent barbed and seeded proper and a Harp also Or stringed
Argent and in sinister a Garb Or between in chief an Eagle rising Gules nimbed Argent grasping in the
dexter claw a Serpent Vert and in base on waves of the sea a Galley, oars in action,
proper. (This paragraph is in heraldic language.)
The EAGLE is the symbol of victory recalling Bishop Bohan’s family name, or in its Irish spelling
“Buadhacháin” meaning “victorious”. The eagle holding the serpent in its talon is symbolic of the victory
of Christ over evil and thus represents salvation, redemption and resurrection.
The WHITE ROSE is for “York” the original name for Toronto for whom Archbishop Bohan was first
named Auxiliary Bishop. In Christian prayer, Mary is praised as the “Mystical Rose”, the symbol of
graced fertility of whom Christ was born into the world.
The HARP symbolizes Ireland the country of origin of the Bohan family before its immigration to Canada
in the early 19th century. In Christian symbolism, the harp represents all music played to the glory of
God.
The WHEAT SHEAF is taken from the arms of the Province of Saskatchewan of which the See of Regina
is located. The heads of wheat recall the Eucharistic Bread of Life.
The GALLEY is taken from the arms of the Province of New Brunswick, Bishop Bohan’s home province.
By extension, the ship also represents the Holy Church, the Barque of Peter. The full sail and the
billowing flags indicate that this heraldic ship, like the Church, is driven by the winds of the Holy Spirit.
The oars tell of the human work it takes to navigate the ship, in cooperation with God’s plan.
The motto: “Misericors et Fidelis” (“Compassionate and Faithful”) is taken from the “Letter to the
Hebrews” and describes Christ, the true High Priest.
|
