Pope Francis has appointed the Reverend Joseph Dabrowski, C.S.M.A., as Auxiliary Bishop of London, Ontario.
At the time of his appointment, the Bishop-elect was Superior of the North American Vice-Province of “St. Kateri Tekakwitha” of the Congregation of St. Michael Archangel (the Michaelite Fathers, part of the religious family originating with Saint Don Bosco), and pastor of Saint Mary Parish, Ontario, in the Diocese of London. He will assist the Bishop of London, the Most Reverend Ronald Peter Fabbro, C.S.B.
Joseph Dąbrowski was born on July 17, 1964, in Poland. After graduating from a high school administered by the Michaelite Fathers, he decided to enter the religious order. After completing the one-year novitiate and a year of internship in Poland, he was selected to study in Italy at the Saint Peter Institute of Philosophy and Theology, Viterbo. He graduated from the Pontifical Athenaeum of Saint Anselm in Rome and was ordained at the Pontifical Sanctuary of Santa Maria ad Rupes, in Italy, on May 4, 1991. The same year, he was assigned to join the Michaelite community in London and has served in Ontario since then.
In 1998 he was named pastor of Saint Mary, and in 2013 appointed superior of the North American Vice-Province of the Michaelites.
He is fluent in English, Polish, and Italian, and has studied Russian, Latin, and Spanish.
The Diocese of London has 130 parishes and missions, with a population of 444,310 Catholics, served by 110 diocesan priests, 58 priests who are members of religious institutes, 51 permanent deacons, 479 religious Sisters and Brothers, and 78 lay pastoral workers.
