Adam Exner

Adam Joseph Exner, OMI (December 24, 1928 – September 5, 2023) was a Canadian bishop of the Catholic Church.

Adam Joseph Exner was born in Killaly, Saskatchewan, on Christmas Eve of 1928.

He was the youngest of eight children of Joseph and Frances (Gelowitz).

His parents were Bukovina Germans who moved to Canada as children.

His father was originally from Molodiia, while his mother came from Derelui.

Both families lived on a homestead in Mariahilf and emigrated at the turn of the 20th century.

This was the result of a population boom combined with a scarcity of land in the area.

Exner grew up in a humble farming household that lacked electricity, tap water, and central heating.

Although his mother was illiterate, she made sure Exner and his siblings received comprehensive instruction on the Baltimore Catechism.

Mass was not celebrated every Sunday at the local church, so the family gathered around the kitchen table for what he called a "para-liturgy" when it was not held.

This entailed singing hymns, going through the readings and Gospel of the day, talking about the texts and its relevance to their everyday lives, and concluded with praying the Rosary.

Exner completed his primary education at Flegel School, a single-room rural school located 2.5 mi away from where he lived.

There, he was instructed by only one teacher through the whole of his elementary years.

He started learning the accordion without the help of a teacher before enrolling in kindergarten.

He continued to play polkas and waltzes on the instrument well after he became bishop.

Exner left school temporarily after eighth grade, in order to work on the family farm.

As the youngest child, he was in line to inherit the property, in keeping with the tradition in his family.

Consequently, he intended to become a farmer had he not joined the priesthood.

Exner felt a calling to the priesthood in the summer of 1946.

He resumed his studies that September, first at St. Joseph's College in Yorkton, before transferring to St. Thomas College in Battleford one year later.

After graduating from the latter institute, he went on to study one year of arts and subsequently joined the Missionary Oblates of Mary Immaculate novitiate at St. Norbert in August 1950.

Starting in 1951, he attended seminary at the Pontifical Gregorian University in Rome.

He obtained two master's degrees from that institution (one in philosophy and the other in theology).

He was ordained a priest in 1957.

Upon returning to Canada, he completed a doctoral degree in moral theology and went on to teach at seminaries in his home province and Alberta.

On July 7, 1957, Exner was ordained to the Catholic priesthood in Roviano, on the outskirts of Rome, by Luigi Faveri, the Bishop of Tivoli at the time.

Exner went back to Canada in 1958.

He proceeded to complete a Doctorate of Theology at the University of Ottawa within two years.

Because of the accelerated pace, he described this time as "probably the hardest two years of my life".

He subsequently taught at the Oblate seminary of St. Charles Scholasticate in Battleford as professor of moral theology from 1960 to 1972, and served as its rector for six of those years.

This is in spite of the fact that he did not envisage himself teaching and had expressed his preference to be assigned to a foreign mission instead.

After the Oblate seminary was relocated to Edmonton in 1972, Exner followed along and taught at the Newman Theological College up until his appointment as bishop.

He also led several retreats during this time, primarily for his fellow clergymen and religious.

He was appointed Bishop of Kamloops in 1974 and was consecrated that same year.

He was the Archbishop of Vancouver from 1991 until 2004, having previously served as the Bishop of Kamloops and Archbishop of Winnipeg.

Prior to his appointment as bishop, he was a professor at seminaries run by his religious order.

Exner was born and raised in Saskatchewan, where he completed his secondary education.

He entered the Oblate novitiate outside Winnipeg, before studying for the priesthood at the Pontifical Gregorian University in Rome.

Eight years later, he became Archbishop of Winnipeg, a position he held for nearly a decade before being transferred to Vancouver in 1991.

Exner was noted for calling the first diocesan synod in Vancouver that allowed for the laity to participate.