Bishop Joseph Dabrowski Named Tenth Bishop of Hamilton

Early this morning the Vatican announced that His Holiness Pope Leo XIV named the Most Reverend Joseph Dabrowski, C.S.M.A., as the tenth Bishop of Hamilton. At the time of his appointment, Bishop Dabrowski was serving as the bishop of Charlottetown, Prince Edward Island. 

Bishop Joseph Dabrowski was born in 1964, the second of five children. The son of Czesława and Ludwik, he grew up in Wysoka Strzyżowska, a small village in the south of Poland. After graduating from a high school run by the Michaelite Fathers, he entered the Michaelite religious order. After completing the Novitiate, he made his first profession in 1982. After a year of internship in Poland, he was selected to study in Italy at the Institute of Philosophy and Theology of Saint Peter in Viterbo. He graduated from the Pontifical Athenaeum of St. Anselm in Rome, obtaining a Master of Divinity degree.

He was ordained to the priesthood on 4 May 1991 at the Pontifical Sanctuary of Santa Maria ad Rupes, Italy. Four days later, he was assigned to join the Michaelite Fathers’ community in London, Ontario. He served as Associate Pastor at Our Lady of Czestochowa in London from 1992-1993; St. Michael in Leamington from 1993-1996; St. Pius X (now Holy Family) in London from 1996-1997; and St. Mary in the Diocese of London from 1997-1998.

In 1998, he was named Pastor of St. Mary’s Parish, where he served until he was ordained Auxiliary Bishop of the Diocese of London. His episcopal ordination took place on 14 April 2015 at the Cathedral Basilica of St. Peter in London. The Most Reverend Ronald Peter Fabbro, C.S.B., Bishop of London, presided. The then Apostolic Nuncio to Canada, the Most Reverend Luigi Bonazzi, was present.

In the Michaelite community, Bishop Joseph has served as Vice Superior, Vice Provincial, and Provincial of the North American Vice Province.

At the Diocesan level, Bishop Dabrowski has served on the Council of Priests, the Ministry to Priests Team, the advisory board for St. Peter’s Cemetery, and the Ethnic Communities Committee, as well as acting as Spiritual Director for St. Peter’s Seminary.

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), and as a member of the Episcopal Commission for Evangelization and Catechesis. As a member of the Assembly of Catholic Bishops of Ontario, he was appointed to serve on the Social Affairs Commission, and act as Bishop Liaison to the Ontario Association of Parents in Catholic Education (OAPCE).

He speaks English, Polish, Italian, Spanish, and has previously studied French, Russian, and Latin.

Bishop Dabrowski will be installed at the Cathedral Basilica of Christ the King in Hamilton, Ontario, on February 2, 2026.