Welcome Father Hezuk Shroff!

We extend a warm St. Peter’s welcome to Rev. Father Hezuk Shroff, our new Parish Pastor appointed by his grace Archbishop Marcel Damphousse.

Who is this new Pastor assigned to St. Peter’s Parish Community? To partially answer this question, allow me to share with you the broad outlines of my priestly journey:

Fr. Hezuk Shroff was born in India in 1971. His family immigrated to Canada when he was four, and he grew up in the Ottawa area. Father’s family were Parsi, which is the name given to the Indians who belonged to the Zoroastrian religion that originated in Ancient Persia. When Father left Ottawa to study at McGill University, he discovered and fell in love with the Catholic Faith. He was received into the Catholic Church in 1995.

After his conversion, Father felt called to pursue a religious vocation. After finishing his Master’s degree at McGill, he spent several years seeking the Will of God and where God was calling him. He spent a few years with the Benedictine monks (both in Quebec and in France), and with the Brothers of St. John (in Canada, the US, France, and the Philippines). While on mission in Cebu in the Philippines, Father felt God calling him to leave religious life and serve the Church as a diocesan (parish) priest. After his temporary vows expired, Father, with the permission of his superiors, returned to Canada and entered the diocesan seminary in Toronto. He was ordained for the Archdiocese of Ottawa (now Ottawa-Cornwall) on May 13, 2011, the feast of Our Lady of Fatima.

Fr. Shroff has served in various parishes since his ordination. He has served as a parish priest at Notre-Dame Cathedral, Divine Infant Parish (Orleans), Holy Redeemer Parish (Kanata), Good Shepherd Parish (Blackburn Hamlet), and St. Catherine of Siena Parish (Metcalfe). He has also served as priest-chaplain to Couples for Christ, and is currently the spiritual director of the Ottawa Legion of Mary. Father also helps with formation for the Spiritual Motherhood of Priests and, until August 2024, has helped with the Marriages for Mary marriage apostolate. In 2017, exactly 22 years to the day when Father became Catholic, he received his mother into the Catholic Faith: she was baptized, confirmed, and made her first Holy Communion at the Easter Vigil that year.

Father is very happy to be here at St. Peter’s Parish, and he looks forward to getting to know the parishioners and the community over the weeks and months ahead.

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