New Bishop For Hamilton
Date posted on November 1, 2025
November 1, 2025
At noon today (6 a.m. Eastern Standard Time) His Holiness, Pope Leo XIV, announced that the Most Reverend Joseph Dabrowski, C.S.M.A., currently Bishop of Charlottetown, has been appointed the 10th Bishop of Hamilton. Previously, Bishop Dabrowski, served as Auxiliary Bishop of London.
His Excellency, Bishop Dabrowski, has indicated that he will present his Decree of Appointment to the College of Consultors on February 2, 2026, and “formally take possession of the See”, at a ceremony to be held at the Cathedral Basilica of the Christ the King in Hamilton, Ontario.
Bishop Dabrowski becomes the Bishop of Hamilton on his appointment by Pope Leo XIV. He is to be included in the Eucharistic Prayer offered in the diocese effective immediately. In the interim, I have been appointed Apostolic Administrator of the diocese. Upon his accession, I will retire.
Greetings and good wishes can be extended to Bishop Dabrowski at his current address: P.O. Box 907, Charlottetown PE, C1A 7L9, (bishop@dioceseofcharlottetown.com) or 700 King Street West, Hamilton ON, L8P 1C7, (bishopsoffice@hamiltondiocese.com).
+Douglas Crosby, OMI
Most Reverend Douglas Crosby, OMI
Apostolic Administrator, Diocese of Hamilton.
Bishop Joseph Dabrowski
The Most Reverend Joseph Dabrowski was born in 1964, the second of five children, and grew up in Wysoka Strzyżowska, a village in the south of Poland. After graduating from a high school run by the Congregation of St. Michael the Archangel, he chose to enter the Michaelite religious order. After completing one year of the Novitiate, he made his first profession in 1982 and graduated from the Pontifical Athenaeum of St. Anselmo in Rome, obtaining his Master of Divinity in 1991.
He was ordained to the priesthood on 4 May 1991 in Italy at the Pontifical Sanctuary of Santa Maria ad Rupes. He was assigned to join the Michaelite community in London, Ontario. In the Michaelite community, he served as Vice Superior, Advisor, Vice Provincial, and Superior of North American Vice Province. He also served as Associate Pastor at Our Lady of Czestochowa in London from 1992 to 1993; St. Michael in Leamington from 1993 to 1996; St. Pius X (now Holy Family) in London from 1996 to 1997; and St. Mary’s Parish in London from 1997 to 1998.
In 1998 he was named Pastor of St. Mary’s Parish in London, where he served until he was ordained Auxiliary Bishop of the Diocese of London. His episcopal ordination took place on the 14 April 2015 at the Cathedral Basilica of St. Peter in London. As Auxiliary Bishop, he served in the Diocese of London from 2015 – 2023. During this time, he served as Vicar General, Vicar for Priests, Episcopal Liaison to St. Peter’s Seminary, Member of the Board of Directors of St. Peter’s Seminary, Episcopal Liaison with Religious Communities.
On the 2 April 2023 Bishop Dabrowski was appointed by Pope Francis and he was then installed on the 29 June 2023 as the 14th Bishop of Charlottetown.
As a member of the Canadian Conference of Catholic Bishops, Bishop Dabrowski was appointed as Catholic Co-Chair to the Roman Catholic/Evangelical Church Dialogue (Episcopal Commission for Christian Unity), a member of the Episcopal Commission for Evangelization and Catechesis, and as a member of the Standing Committee for National Family and Life. From 2023 to 2025, he was a member of the Atlantic Episcopal Assembly.
Bishop Dabrowski enjoys serving and speaking with the faithful of many cultures and celebrating the Catholic faith in many languages. He speaks English, Polish, Italian, Spanish, and has previously studied French, Russian, and Latin.