VATICAN CITY (CNS) — The Romanian Catholic bishop of St. George, based in Canton, Ohio, no longer ministers just to Romanian Catholics in the United States, he also has formal responsibility for all Romanian Catholics of the Byzantine rite across Canada.
On the 23 April feast of St. George, the Vatican announced that Pope Francis had extended the jurisdiction of Romanian Bishop John M. Botean of St. George to the faithful of his church in Canada.
The Romanian Catholic Eparchy of St. George, established in 1987, covers the entire United States and counts about 6,000 faithful. According to the diocesan website, in 2010 the Congregation for Eastern Churches entrusted the diocese with the pastoral care of Romanian Catholic parishes in Toronto and Montreal as well.
The Vatican did not say how many Romanian Catholics live in Canada, but the country reports more than 400,000 residents of Romanian heritage.