BREAKING Pope Leo XIV Appoints New Archbishop for Edmonton, Alberta, Canada - Most Rev. Stephen Hero

Episcopal appointment for the Archdiocese of Edmonton Friday, November 21 2025

On 21 November 2025, His Holiness Pope Leo XIV appointed the Most Reverend Stephen A. Hero, Bishop of Prince Albert, as the eighth Archbishop of Edmonton.

He succeeds the Most Reverend Richard Smith, who was appointed Archbishop of Vancouver on 25 February 2025. The Reverend Paul Kavanagh has served as Archdiocesan Administrator in the interim.

Archbishop-elect Hero was born on 19 December 1969, in Lachine, Québec. He earned a Bachelor of Arts (Philosophy) from the Seminary of Christ the King in Mission, British Columbia, in 1994. After further studies in theology at Saint Joseph Seminary in Edmonton, he studied at the Pontifical University of Saint Thomas Aquinas (Angelicum) in Rome, where he received a Bachelor in Sacred Theology (1998) as well as a Licentiate in Sacred Theology (2000).

On 7 October 1999, he was ordained a transitional deacon for the Archdiocese of Edmonton, leading up to his ordination to the sacred priesthood on 29 June 2000.

He returned to Rome, earning a Licentiate in Liturgical Theology from the Pontifical Liturgical Institute of Sant’ Anselmo in 2005.

Between 2000 and 2001, he served as Parochial Vicar at Saint Theresa’s Catholic Church, and from 2001 to 2002, he was Parochial Vicar at Holy Family Catholic Church in Edmonton. In 2001, he also became Vocation Director for the Archdiocese of Edmonton. Starting in 2005, he was a member of the formation team at Saint Joseph Seminary and a continuing lecturer at Newman Theological College, specializing in Spirituality, Liturgy, and Sacraments. In 2010, he was appointed Vice-Rector of Saint Joseph Seminary and later served as Rector from 2012 to 2021.

On 25 March 2021, Pope Francis appointed Archbishop-elect Hero as the Bishop of Prince Albert. His episcopal consecration occurred on 11 June 2021.

As a member of the Canadian Conference of Catholic Bishops (CCCB), Archbishop-elect Hero has served on the Episcopal Commission for Doctrine and currently serves on the Episcopal Commission for Liturgy and the Sacraments (English Sector).

The Archdiocese of Edmonton covers 150,000 square kilometres extending from the Rocky Mountains in the west to the Saskatchewan border in the east, and from Didsbury in the south to Mayerthorpe in the north. It comprises 61 parishes with resident priests in cities, towns, rural communities, and First Nations’ areas, along with another 64 parishes and missions without resident clergy.

CCCB release - Canadian Conference of Catholic Bishops

His episcopal motto is Deus Solus (God Alone), drawn from Psalms 86:10: “For you are great and do wondrous things; you are God alone.” It expresses the conviction that God must be at the center of every Christian life.
The Archbishop-Designate’s Coat of Arms

(Note: The Coat of Arms is being updated to reflect the insignia of an Archbishop: ten tassels on each side of the shield and the Archiepiscopal Cross behind it. Archbishop-Designate Hero is working with the Canadian Heraldic Society.)

The shield is black, representing the finite nature of the created universe—from the soil of the earth to the expanse of outer space—and the mystery and mortality inherent to human life.

A gold Cross saltire (X-shaped Cross) cuts across the shield, signifying the death and resurrection of Christ, the central event of human salvation. Its saltire form symbolizes how Christ’s Cross takes unique shape in each disciple’s life. It also recalls Archbishop Hero’s patron saints: St. Stephen of Hungary and St. Andrew the Apostle.

Two turtledoves, positioned in the right and left quadrants, represent St. Joseph, who offered this sacrifice of the poor in the Temple (Luke 2:24). Rendered in silver, they symbolize Joseph’s purity, poverty of spirit, and loving obedience to God. They face inward toward the Cross, reminding Christians that Christ’s sacrifice gives meaning to every other.

Twelve gold stars in the upper and lower quadrants evoke the Blessed Virgin Mary as described in Revelation 12:1. They symbolize her Assumption, her role as the perfect disciple, and the hope of heavenly glory for all believers. The stars also recall the ‘Little Crown of Our Lady’, a prayer of twelve Hail Marys promoted by St. Louis Marie de Montfort.

The use of gold and silver against the black field signifies that the glory of God and the life of grace are the true riches of Christians, echoing St. Peter’s words: “I have no silver or gold, but what I have I give you…” (Acts 3:6).
Description of the Archbishop’s Motto

Archbishop-Designate Hero has chosen the Latin phrase Deus Solus (“God Alone”) as his episcopal motto. A favourite expression of St. Louis Marie de Montfort and reminiscent of St. Teresa of Avila’s solo Dios basta, it appears in the Vulgate version of Psalms 86:10: “For you are great and do wondrous things; you are God alone.”

The motto expresses the conviction that God must remain at the center of life in order to love ourselves, our neighbours, and the created world rightly. It warns against the perennial human temptation to place ourselves—or anything else—in the place of God.

Source: https://caedm.ca/bishop-stephen-hero-named-next-archbishop-of-edmonton/