The Archdiocese of Grouard–McLennan was erected on April 8, 1862, as the
Apostolic Vicariate of Athabaska Mackenzie, on territory split off from the
Diocese of Saint-Boniface. A month later on May 8, 1862,
Henri Faraud was appointed as
apostolic vicar. Faraud served until March 20, 1890, when he resigned. He was succeeded by
Émile Grouard who was appointed
apostolic vicar on October 18, 1890. Faraud and later Grouard were assisted by
Isidore Clut who was appointed
auxiliary bishop on August 3, 1864, and who served until his death on July 9, 1903. On July 3, 1901, the territory of the vicariate was split, remaining as the
Apostolic Vicariate of Athabaska, which comprised what is today the northwestern area of the Province of Alberta, but losing the then
Apostolic Vicariate of Mackenzie, which comprised what today is the
Northwest Territories as well as northeastern area of the Province of Alberta. Grouard remained as the Apostolic Vicar of Athabaska and Gabriel Breynat was appointed Apostolic Vicar of Mackenzie. A few years after the death of Bishop Clut, Celestin_Henri Joussard was appointed
coadjutor apostolic vicar on May 11, 1909. On March 15, 1927, the name of the vicariate was changed from the Apostolic Vicariate of Athabaska to the
Apostolic Vicariate of Grouard. Joussard never ended up succeeding Grouard as Apostolic Vicar of Athabaska and both Grouard and Joussard retired on April 18, 1929. Following the retirement of Grouard,
Joseph Guy was appointed Vicar Apostolic of Grouard on December 19, 1929. Guy served until June 2, 1937, when he was appointed the Bishop of
Gravelbourg. The following year on March 30, 1938, Ubald Langlois was appointed Apostolic Vicar of Grouard. On June 15, 1945, Henri Routhier was appointed coadjutor apostolic vicar. In 1946 Langlois transferred the seat of the vicariate from Grouard to
McLennan. The town of
Grouard, taking its name from Bishop Grouard when it was incorporated as a town on September 27, 1909, was a thriving community of approximately 1,200 people. This changed when the
Edmonton, Dunvegan and British Columbia Railway built its new line south of
Lesser Slave Lake instead of going through Grouard which was on the north shore of Lesser Slave Lake. The majority of Grouard's population moved to
High Prairie, the newly established town on the railway. Bishop Grouard had originally established a mission at the Lesser Slave Lake settlement, the original name of Grouard, under the patronage of Saint Bernard, in 1872. Shortly after the seat of the vicariate was transferred to McLennan, work began on a new cathedral dedicated to Saint John the Baptist. Langlois served as Apostolic Vicar of Grouard until his death on September 18, 1953. Upon Langlois death, Bishop Routhier immediately succeeded him as Apostolic Vicar of Grouard. On July 13, 1967, the Apostolic Vicariate of Grouard was elevated to the
Archdiocese of Grouard–McLennan and made the
Metropolitan See of northwestern Canada with the newly elevated Dioceses of
Prince George,
Mackenzie-Fort Smith and
Whitehorse as
suffragans, but the Diocese of Prince George was later transferred to the Ecclesiastical Province of British Columbia. On this date all the Apostolic Vicariates in northern Canada were elevated to dioceses. Routhier served until his resignation on November 21, 1972, he was succeeded by Henri Légaré, who had been Bishop of
Labrador-Schefferville. Archbishop Légaré served until his retirement on July 16, 1996. On the same day Henri Goudreault, who had also served as Bishop of Labrador City-Schefferville, was appointed to succeed him. Archbishop Goudreault died suddenly of a heart attack on July 23, 1998. The Archdiocese of Grouard–McLennan remained vacant until the appointment of
Arthé Guimond, who had served as archdiocesan administrator, on June 9, 2000. Archbishop Guimond retired on November 30, 2006, and
Gérard Pettipas was appointed to succeed him on the same day. ==Bishops==