New beginning for Saskatoon bishop in Queen City

After six years of service, the Bishop of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Saskatoon moved to Regina on Thursday to begin his new role of archbishop. 
 
“These have been the happiest years of my life,” Bolen said. “The people are really great to work with in this community.”
 
Bolen was appointed archbishop by Pope Francis in July. Regina has been without an archbishop since Daniel Bohan, who formerly held the position, died in January.

“It won’t be much of a change because I don’t know any city in the world that is more like Saskatoon than Regina,” Bolen said. “These two cities have the same blessings and same challenges.”

Bolen said homelessness is one of those common issues. He reflected on his own learning moment as a bishop when he took part in a 36 hours of homelessness challenge in Saskatoon.

“I learned it’s not easy to sleep in the park outside, even if it’s in the summertime,” he said.

“I’ve learned we make homeless people invisible because we don’t want to see them, which is disappointing.”

–with files from David Kirton