About me

I’m Bishop Thomas Dowd, the Roman Catholic bishop of the Diocese of Sault Ste. Marie. I’ve been a priest since 2001, and I was ordained as a bishop in 2011 in Montréal, where I was first an auxiliary bishop before coming to northern Ontario.

About this site

I first began blogging in 2003, not quite two years after becoming a priest. I started because I was bursting: being a priest, as I was discovering, was an amazing experience, with all the highs and lows of a great adventure, with a few lighter moments too. Joy and meaning were my daily experience, and I wanted to share it with the world.

My blogging routines changed when I began to work as a hospital chaplain, and later in diocesan administration. It was hard to be so public when my roles meant I had to handle people’s private information. I didn’t want anyone to ever wonder if their personal story might wind up on the Internet, so I curtailed my writing habit quite a bit. But I could feel something was missing.

I would still blog from time to time, especially when I was going through a major life event. I blogged my ordination as a Bishop, I blogged my experience of the Synod on Youth in 2018, and I blogged about my transfer to this beautiful diocese.

Now, it is time to try something new.

About my hopes

As I reflect on my experiences, I realise that my life has been marked by the virtue of hope. I don’t mean that I’m particularly virtuous, but rather that insight into hope, for whatever reason, has been given to me as an unearned gift. Hope in good times, and in bad. Hope that has come through an inner light, and hope that has come to me from the encouragement and compassion of others. I want to share that hope.

Cor et Anima Una

This site is called “Cor et Anima Una”, which is my episcopal motto. I take it specifically from Acts 4:32. Like a lot of Latin phrases is can be interpreted a few ways, but I like the translation “one in mind and heart”. It is my vision of what humanity is called to be, and what God wants the Church to show to the world.

I invite you to join me. First and foremost, please pray for me and for those I am called to serve. If you find these posts helpful, please subscribe, and perhaps encourage others to do as well. As new projects emerge, I’ll see you get a chance to take part. And know that I will be carrying you in my heart and in my prayer.

God bless you!