New bishops.

Ottawa--In the first Canadian nominations since his accession, Pope Benedict XVI has made two new episcopal appointments.

Fr. Sylvain Lavoie of the Oblates of Mary Immaculate (O.M.I.), born in 1947, has been named Coadjutor Bishop of Keewatin-Le-Pas, Manitoba. With much of his pastoral experiences gained in aboriginal parishes of Manitoba and Saskatchewan, Fr. Lavoie will eventually succeed 70-year-old Archbishop Peter Sutton, O.M.I. The archdiocese has a Catholic population of 37,000 in 48 parishes and missions.

The diocese of Hamilton, Canada's fourth largest with 560,000 faithful, is to have Father Gerard Paul Bergie as its second auxiliary bishop. Born in 1959, ordained in 1984, the native Hamiltonian has served in three of its parishes and has also been Chancellor of the diocese. The diocese has 210 priests, 300 religious sisters and brothers, and 55 lay pastoral assistants. Hamilton's bishop is Anthony Tonnos, 70, with Matthew Ustrzycki, 73, as auxiliary bishop.