Remi De Roo

Who is Remi De Roo?

Remi De Roo is a retired Canadian Roman Catholic bishop. Ordained a priest on June 8, 1950, and a bishop on December 14, 1962, he was the Bishop of Victoria until he retired on March 18, 1999. He was born in Swan Lake. This makes him Canada’s longest-serving Catholic bishop.

De Roo has a Bachelor of Arts degree in Latin philosophy from the Collège de Saint-Boniface. In 1952 he earned a doctorate in sacred theology from the Pontifical University of Saint Thomas Aquinas, Angelicum in Rome with a dissertation entitled Regina in Coelum assumpta : les rapports entre l'assomption et la souveraineté de Marie. He also has several honorary degrees and is an Enneagram of Personality teacher.

De Roo attended all four sessions of Vatican II. This experience deeply affected him and he still refers to himself as "a pilgrim of the Second Vatican Council". He describes attending the sessions as "a voyage of discovery that would radically alter my whole outlook on reality" and "it was indeed a time of euphoria". Since his retirement, De Roo has continued to travel and lecture about Vatican II and gave the keynote address, Rebuild my church – a Vatican Council Father Shares an Inspired Vision, at a Call to Action conference in 2008.