It is with great sadness that the Archdiocese of Rimouski announced that the Most Reverend Pierre-André Fournier, Archbishop of Rimouski and President of the Assembly of Catholic Bishops of Quebec, passed away Saturday January 10, 2015.

Most Reverend Pierre-André Fournier passed away at 12:30 p.m., Saturday January 10, 2015, at the Rimouski Regional Hospital. He was 71 years and 7 months old. 

The funeral of the Most Reverend Pierre-André Fournier, Archbishop of Rimouski and President of the Assembly of Catholic Bishops of Quebec, will take place on Sunday, January 18, 2015, at 2:30 pm, in the Church of Saint-Robert Bellarmin, Rimouski. His Eminence Gérald Cyprien Cardinal Lacroix, Archbishop of Québec and Primate of the Church in Canada, will preside. The celebration will be broadcast live on Internet by the television service of the Archdiocese of Québec at www.ecdq.tv.

There will be visitation in the grand salon of the Archdiocesan residence in Rimouski (34, rue de l'Évêché Ouest), on Friday, January 16, and Saturday, January 17, from 2:00 pm to 4:30 pm, and from 7:00 pm to 9:30 pm. At noon, on Sunday, January 18, the day of the funeral, the body will lie in state in the Church of Saint-Robert-Bellarmin. A prayer vigil will be held on Wednesday, January 14, 2015, at 7:30 pm in Saint-Roch Church in Quebec City.

Born in Plessisville, Quebec, in 1943, Archbishop Fournier was ordained priest on June 10, 1967. In 2005, Saint John Paul II appointed him Auxiliary Bishop of the Archdiocese of Québec. He was appointed Archbishop of Rimouski in July 2008 by Pope Benedict XVI.

During his episcopal ministry, Archbishop Fournier served on several committees of the Canadian Conference of Catholic Bishops (CCCB), as well as of the Assembly of Québec Catholic Bishops. He served as Chairman of the CCCB Standing Committee for Relations with Movements and Associations (2008-2011), a member of the Anglican and Roman Bishops' Dialogue (2008-2011), a member of the CCCB Ad hoc Committee for Development and Peace (2010-2011), member of the CCCB Standing Committee for Development and Peace (2011-2014) and was Chairman of the same Committee since 2014. In 2011, he was elected President of the Assembly of Québec Catholic Bishops.

May he rest in peace!