(12 Dec. 1927-22 July 1987), fifth bishop of Alexandria. (name has also been given as J. Adolphe Proulx) Born at Hanmer, Ont., near Sudbury. Parents: Augustin Proulx and his wife Marie-Louise Tremblay. He attended local schools, Sudbury High School, Sacré-Coeur College in Sudbury, and St. Augustine’s Seminary in Toronto. When a student, he worked during summer vacations in the Falconbridge and Inco mines. The future bishop was ordained to the priesthood, 17 April 1954 at North Bay. He studied Canon Law in Rome, 1958-1960, was a parish priest, and in 1965 was named auxiliary bishop of the diocese of Sault Ste. Marie, with his consecration as auxiliary bishop being on 24 Feb. 1965. He was named bishop of Alexandria in April 1967, and was installed on 16 June 1967 as bishop of that diocese. Aged 39, he was the youngest bishop in the Canadian hierarchy. For the first time in the history of the diocese, Protestant ministers were present at the ceremony.
While bishop of Alexandria, he transferred the diocesan headquarters from Alexandria to Cornwall, a move which caused unhappiness in the Alexandria area but was dictated by the demographics of the diocese. Two further developments closely linked to the move to Cornwall, namely the change of the name of the diocese to Alexandria-Cornwall and the loss by St. Finnan’s of its status as the sole cathedral of the diocese, did not come till the reign of the next Bishop, Fr Eugene Philippe LaRocque. Bishop Proulx was also active in putting into effect in his diocese the reforms resulting from Vatican II. Also, he was much concerned with the difficult issues involved in providing educational facilities reasonably tolerable to both the francophones and the anglophones of the diocese. During his reign the old stone church at St. Raphael’s (associated with the great pioneer Bishop Alexander Macdonell) was destroyed by fire on 11 Aug. 1970. A new church was built and the walls of the old church are today preserved as historic ruins.
In Feb. 1974 he was named to the diocese of Hull. His enthronement as bishop of Hull was on 31 March 1974. As bishop of Hull (Hull-Gatineau) he became widely known as a spokesman on social issues, espcially those relating to wages and working conditions. On his death, Archbishop James M. Hayes of Halifax, vice-president of the Canadian Conference of Catholic Bishops, was quoted as calling him “a conscience of the church.” (Obituary) Bishop Proulx died in a drowning accident (in which his diabetic condition may have been a factor) at his summer cottage near Curry Hill, on Lake St. Francis.
Glengarry News 29 July 1987 * Choquette * Macdonald, St. Finnan’s * Sinnsearchd (1990) * biog. sketch of Mgr Adolphe Proulx, Des’avirons [periodical, Alexandria, Ont.] 1972 * “Bishop with a Miner’s Voice,” Globe and Mail 26 Feb. 1983 (with portrait) * named, installed, as bishop of Alexandria, leaves diocese, GN 4 May 1967, 22 June 1967, 14 March 1974 * calls for boycott of the Dominion Stores grocery chain in interest of the California migrant agricultural workers, Ottawa Citizen 4 June 1975