OTTAWA (CCN) — After a busy Sunday celebrating three Masses, Fr. Susai Jesu, OMI, returned home on Nov. 16 ready to relax.
While talking on the phone with a friend, he received a call from the 613 area code, which encompasses the Ottawa region. Naturally, as many do in 2025, he assumed it was a scammer and declined to answer.
It was no scam however, it was Archbishop Ivan Jurkovič, Apostolic Nuncio to Canada, looking to make contact. Once they connected later in the evening via WhatsApp, the diplomatic representative of the Holy See informed Jesu that Pope Leo XIV had appointed him as the new Archbishop of Keewatin-Le Pas.
Jesu will be ordained at the end of January at Our Lady of the Sacred Heart Cathedral in The Pas, Man. He succeeds Archbishop Murray Chatlain, who began leading the Archdiocese of Winnipeg on April 4.
In an interview with The Catholic Register, the 54-year-old Missionary Oblate of Mary Immaculate shared what Jurkovič relayed during the life-changing phone conversation.
“He told me ‘you have good pastoral experience, you’re a great missionary from India, and you have proven yourself worthy,’ ” said Jesu, who was ordained to the priesthood on July 27, 2000, at the Church of the Immaculate Heart of Mary in Kanchipuram, Tamil Nadu. ‘“You are (also) an OMI and you did a great job when Pope Francis came.’ ”
From 2017 to July of this year, Jesu served as the pastor of Sacred Heart Church of the First Peoples in Edmonton. A defining moment of his tenure was hosting Pope Francis at his parish during the pontiff’s historical penitential pilgrimage to foster reconciliatory ties with the Indigenous peoples of Canada.
On July 25, 2022, Pope Francis delivered an address in Canada’s only designated Indigenous parish in the company of First Nations, Métis and Inuit representatives, congregants and other dignitaries.
Jesu’s legacy at Sacred Heart Church of the First Peoples is also defined by his community outreach efforts. He oversaw bagged lunch programs, a parish food bank, clothing drives and community meals for the most vulnerable in Edmonton. His parish community was also a source of comfort for residents of the Northwest Territories who evacuated to Alberta during the 2023 wildfire season.
Jesu is currently serving as pastor of Our Lady of Mercy Parish in Enoch First Nation, Lac Ste. Anne Parish in Lac Ste. Anne, St. Paul Parish in Paul Band First Nation, Our Lady of the Lake Parish in Alexis First Nation and at the St. Alexander Mission in Alexander First Nation.
Fr. Paul Kavanagh, the apostolic administrator of the Archdiocese of Edmonton until the current Prince Albert Bishop Stephen Hero is installed as the new shepherd on Jan. 23, 2026, is full of praise for Jesu’s pastoral contributions. He said Jesu’s ministry “has been marked by a profound love for God and for the Church” and he is “a faithful witness of love, hope and healing.”
Becoming Archbishop of Keewatin-Le Pas, a territory encompassing 725,000 square kilometres across northern Saskatchewan, Manitoba and Ontario, represents a homecoming for Jesu. Not long after being invited to Canada by OMI Lacombe in 2007, with the former Archbishop of Keewatin-Le Pas, Sylvain Lavoie, OMI, extending the offer, Jesu became pastor of Gertrude Parish in Pelican Narrows, Sask. He also served Our Lady of Seven Sorrows Parish in Sandy Bay, Sask., before transitioning to ministering in Alberta.
Fr. Ken Thorson, the former provincial superior of OMI Lacombe, shared in a statement that he has “seen firsthand his deep respect for Indigenous language, culture and community —something he carried from his ministry in India and has lived out with real sincerity here in Canada. His strong work ethic, faithful prayer life, commitment to Oblate community and his love for the Church and for his family have all shaped the way he leads and serves.”
Archbishop-elect Jesu comes to this role as a linguist who speaks English, Cree and Tamil. He also holds a master’s degree in psychology from India and a master’s in counselling and spirituality from Saint Paul University in Ottawa. This academic training has enhanced his ability to forge meaningful pastoral connections with his congregational flock.
While many bishops express that they need a year to acclimatize and appraise their new environment before moving forward with an archdiocesan vision, Jesu’s intimate familiarity with the region will enable him to make progress quicker.
“I am excited to go back as I have visited almost all the reserves, all the communities,” said Jesu. “I had the opportunity over those seven or eight years. I am not going to be an alien or foreigner. Most of the priests and staff I know. I feel comfortable to go and give of myself, particularly dealing with reconciliation programs and bringing (forth) more walking together.”
Jesu intends to meet with First Nations chiefs and councillors early in his tenure to determine how they can work together and demonstrate to the people “we are united in terms of spirituality.”
In the weeks leading up to his installation, Jesu is hard at work developing a coat of arms that is spiritually rich and honours Indigenous cultures. He said “85 to 90 per cent” of the people he will serve are Indigenous.
“How can I bring Jesus to every corner?” pondered Jesu. “The motto that I have chosen is ‘He has sent me to preach the Good News to the poor.’ And that Good News has to take a flash of the Indigenous cultures. So, in that coat of arms, I am bringing the tipi, the medicine wheel, a feather and also the sweet grass.
“My motto is to have Jesus preach in an enculturated way, in an Indian way. How would they understand Jesus in today’s context? In terms of tipi, Jesus came to be among us, to be in our struggle and to help us.”
Jesu’s coat of arms bearing his episcopal motto is expected to be unveiled before December.
