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The Most Famous

RELIGIOUS FIGURES from Canada

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This page contains a list of the greatest Canadian Religious Figures. The pantheon dataset contains 2,238 Religious Figures, 13 of which were born in Canada. This makes Canada the birth place of the 34th most number of Religious Figures behind Sweden and Croatia.

Top 10

The following people are considered by Pantheon to be the top 10 most legendary Canadian Religious Figures of all time. This list of famous Canadian Religious Figures is sorted by HPI (Historical Popularity Index), a metric that aggregates information on a biography’s online popularity. Visit the rankings page to view the entire list of Canadian Religious Figures.

Photo of Marc Ouellet

1. Marc Ouellet (1944 - )

With an HPI of 55.31, Marc Ouellet is the most famous Canadian Religious Figure.  His biography has been translated into 24 different languages on wikipedia.

Marc Armand Ouellet (born 8 June 1944) is a Canadian prelate of the Catholic Church. He was the prefect of the Dicastery for Bishops and president of the Pontifical Commission for Latin America from 2010 to 2023. He was Archbishop of Quebec and Primate of Canada from 2003 to 2010. He was made a cardinal by Pope John Paul II on 21 October 2003. Ouellet was considered a possible candidate for election to the papacy in both 2005 and 2013. He spent his early career as a priest from 1972 to 2001 developing his credentials as a theologian and working as a seminary teacher and administrator in Canada, Colombia, and Rome. He also served briefly in the Roman Curia from 2001 to 2003.

Photo of Gaëtan Dugas

2. Gaëtan Dugas (1952 - 1984)

With an HPI of 50.05, Gaëtan Dugas is the 2nd most famous Canadian Religious Figure.  His biography has been translated into 21 different languages.

Gaëtan Dugas (French: [ɡaetɑ̃ dyɡa]; February 19, 1952 – March 30, 1984) was a Québécois Canadian flight attendant and a relatively early patient with the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV), who once was widely described as "Patient Zero", accusing him of introducing HIV to the United States. This claim has since been proven incorrect.In March 1984, a study tracked Dugas, along with other gay and bisexual men, to indicate his role in a particular cluster of 40 AIDS cases in the United States. He was named "Patient O", with "O" standing for "Out-of-California". A 1987 book about the epidemic, And the Band Played On, used the term "Patient Zero" and put significant focus on Dugas, with media reports expanding his role in the epidemic further. A 2016 study confirmed that Dugas did not bring HIV to the United States, and he was not Patient Zero, via genetic analysis of stored blood samples, supported by historical detective work.Dugas worked as a flight attendant for Air Canada and died in Quebec City in March 1984 as a result of kidney failure caused by AIDS-related infections.

Photo of André Bessette

3. André Bessette (1845 - 1937)

With an HPI of 48.35, André Bessette is the 3rd most famous Canadian Religious Figure.  His biography has been translated into 17 different languages.

André Bessette, C.S.C. (born Alfred; 9 August 1845 – 6 January 1937), commonly known as Brother André (French: Frère André) and since his canonization as Saint André of Montreal, was a lay brother of the Congregation of Holy Cross and a significant figure of the Catholic Church among French-Canadians. He is credited with thousands of reported miraculous oil healings associated with his pious devotion to Saint Joseph.Bessette was declared venerable in 1978 and was beatified by Pope John Paul II in 1982. Pope Benedict XVI approved the decree of sainthood for Bessette on 19 February 2010, with the formal canonization taking place on 17 October 2010. He is the first Canadian living after Confederation to be canonized.

Photo of Jacques Plante

4. Jacques Plante (1929 - 1986)

With an HPI of 47.75, Jacques Plante is the 4th most famous Canadian Religious Figure.  His biography has been translated into 19 different languages.

Joseph Jacques Omer Plante (French pronunciation: [ʒɑk plɑ̃t]; January 17, 1929 – February 27, 1986) was a Canadian professional ice hockey goaltender. During a career lasting from 1947 to 1975, he was considered to be one of the most important innovators in hockey. He played for the Montreal Canadiens from 1953 to 1963; during his tenure, the team won the Stanley Cup six times, including five consecutive wins. In 2017 Plante was named one of the "100 Greatest NHL Players" in history.Plante retired in 1965 but was persuaded to return to the National Hockey League to play for the expansion St. Louis Blues in 1968. He was later traded to the Toronto Maple Leafs in 1970 and to the Boston Bruins in 1973. He joined the World Hockey Association as coach and general manager for the Quebec Nordiques in 1973–74. He then played goal for the Edmonton Oilers in 1974–75, ending his professional career with that team. Plante was the first NHL goaltender to wear a goaltender mask in regulation play on a regular basis. He developed and tested many versions of the mask (including the forerunner of today's mask/helmet combination) with the assistance of other experts. Plante was the first NHL goaltender to regularly play the puck outside his crease in support of his team's defencemen, and he often instructed his teammates from behind the play. Plante was inducted into the Hockey Hall of Fame in 1978, was chosen as the goaltender of the Canadiens' "dream team" in 1985, and was inducted into the Quebec Sports Pantheon in 1994. The Montreal Canadiens retired Plante's jersey, #1, the following year. Plante ranks seventh among NHL goalies for all-time career wins with 437.

Photo of Jean-Claude Turcotte

5. Jean-Claude Turcotte (1936 - 2015)

With an HPI of 45.46, Jean-Claude Turcotte is the 5th most famous Canadian Religious Figure.  His biography has been translated into 19 different languages.

Jean-Claude Turcotte (French pronunciation: [ʒɑ̃ klod tyʁkɔt]) (26 June 1936 – 8 April 2015) was a Canadian Roman Catholic cardinal. Upon his elevation into the cardinalate he was made the Cardinal-Priest of Our Lady of the Blessed Sacrament and the Holy Canadian Martyrs. He was the Archbishop of the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Montreal from 1990 to 2012, and was succeeded as Archbishop by Christian Lépine.

Photo of Gérald Lacroix

6. Gérald Lacroix (1957 - )

With an HPI of 43.05, Gérald Lacroix is the 6th most famous Canadian Religious Figure.  His biography has been translated into 19 different languages.

Gérald Cyprien Lacroix (French pronunciation: [lakʁwa]; born July 27, 1957) is a Canadian Catholic prelate who has served as the Archbishop of Quebec and Primate of Canada since his appointment by Pope Benedict XVI on 22 February 2011. He has been a cardinal since 22 February 2014. He was previously Auxiliary Bishop of Quebec. He is a member of the Council of Cardinals.

Photo of Paul Grégoire

7. Paul Grégoire (1911 - 1993)

With an HPI of 43.01, Paul Grégoire is the 7th most famous Canadian Religious Figure.  His biography has been translated into 15 different languages.

Paul Grégoire, (October 24, 1911 – October 30, 1993) was a Canadian Cardinal of the Roman Catholic Church. He served as Archbishop of Montreal from 1968 to 1990, and was elevated to the cardinalate in 1988.

Photo of Charles Scicluna

8. Charles Scicluna (1959 - )

With an HPI of 41.83, Charles Scicluna is the 8th most famous Canadian Religious Figure.  His biography has been translated into 15 different languages.

Charles Jude Scicluna (born 15 May 1959) is a Canadian-Maltese prelate of the Catholic Church who has served as Archbishop of Malta since 2015. Both as a curial official and since becoming a bishop, he has conducted investigations into sexual abuse by clergy on behalf of the Holy See and led a board that reviews such cases. He has been called "the Vatican's most respected sex crimes expert".He held positions in the Roman Curia from 1995 to 2012, when he was appointed Auxiliary Bishop of Malta. Since November 2018, Scicluna has been an Adjunct Secretary of the Dicastery for the Doctrine of the Faith, the curial body responsible for dealing with clerical sexual abuse cases on minors around the world.

Photo of Mike Bossy

9. Mike Bossy (1957 - 2022)

With an HPI of 40.90, Mike Bossy is the 9th most famous Canadian Religious Figure.  His biography has been translated into 15 different languages.

Michael Dean Bossy (January 22, 1957 – April 15, 2022) was a Canadian professional ice hockey player with the New York Islanders of the National Hockey League. He spent his entire NHL career, which lasted from 1977 to 1987, with the Islanders, and was a crucial part of their four consecutive Stanley Cup championships in the early 1980s. Bossy won the Calder Memorial Trophy in 1978 as NHL rookie of the year when he set the then-record for most goals by a rookie with 53. He won the Conn Smythe Trophy in the 1982 Stanley Cup playoffs as the most valuable player and the Lady Byng Trophy for combining high quality play with sportsmanship three times. He led the NHL in goals twice and was second three further times. Bossy was voted to the league's first all-star team as right wing five times, with three further selections to the second all-star team. He is one of two players (Jack Darragh being the other) to score consecutive Stanley Cup-winning goals (1982 and 1983) and the only player to record four game-winning goals in one playoff series (1983 Conference Final). Bossy is the NHL's all-time leader in average goals scored per regular season game, holds the NHL's third-highest all-time average points scored per regular season game, and is the second of five players to score 50 goals in 50 games, being the first to accomplish this feat 36 years after Maurice Richard did so. He tied for the record for most 50-goal seasons with Wayne Gretzky and Alexander Ovechkin with nine, though his were consecutive as opposed to Gretzky's and Ovechkin's being non-consecutive; he thus is the sole record-holder for most consecutive 50-goal seasons. Bossy was elected to the Hockey Hall of Fame in 1991. In 2017, he was named one of the 100 Greatest NHL Players in history.

Photo of Charles Coughlin

10. Charles Coughlin (1891 - 1979)

With an HPI of 40.71, Charles Coughlin is the 10th most famous Canadian Religious Figure.  His biography has been translated into 18 different languages.

Charles Edward Coughlin ( KOG-lin; October 25, 1891 – October 27, 1979), commonly known as Father Coughlin, was a Canadian-American Catholic priest based in the United States near Detroit. He was the founding priest of the National Shrine of the Little Flower. Dubbed "The Radio Priest" and considered a leading demagogue, he was one of the first political leaders to use radio to reach a mass audience. During the 1930s, when the U.S. population was about 120 million, an estimated 30 million listeners tuned to his weekly broadcasts.Coughlin was born in Canada to working-class Irish Catholic parents. He was ordained to the priesthood in 1916, and in 1923 he was assigned to the National Shrine of the Little Flower in Royal Oak, Michigan. Coughlin began broadcasting his sermons during a time of increasing anti-Catholic sentiment across the globe. As his broadcasts became more political, he became increasingly popular. Initially, Coughlin was a vocal supporter of Franklin D. Roosevelt and his New Deal; he later fell out with Roosevelt, accusing him of being too friendly to bankers. In 1934, he established a political organization called the National Union for Social Justice. Its platform called for monetary reforms, nationalization of major industries and railroads, and protection of labor rights. The membership ran into the millions but was not well organized locally.After making attacks on Jewish bankers, Coughlin began to use his radio program to broadcast antisemitic commentary. In the late 1930s, he supported some of the policies of Nazi Germany and Fascist Italy. The broadcasts have been described as "a variation of the Fascist agenda applied to American culture". His chief topics were political and economic rather than religious, using the slogan "Social Justice". After the outbreak of World War II in Europe in 1939, the Roosevelt administration forced the cancellation of his radio program and forbade distribution by mail of his newspaper Social Justice. Coughlin largely vanished from the public arena, working as a parish pastor until retiring in 1966. He died in 1979 at the age of 88.

Pantheon has 13 people classified as religious figures born between 1845 and 1982. Of these 13, 4 (30.77%) of them are still alive today. The most famous living religious figures include Marc Ouellet, Gérald Lacroix, and Charles Scicluna. The most famous deceased religious figures include Gaëtan Dugas, André Bessette, and Jacques Plante. As of April 2022, 3 new religious figures have been added to Pantheon including André Bessette, Paul Grégoire, and Charles Scicluna.

Living Religious Figures

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Deceased Religious Figures

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Newly Added Religious Figures (2022)

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Which Religious Figures were alive at the same time? This visualization shows the lifespans of the 9 most globally memorable Religious Figures since 1700.