Archbishop Charles Duval remembered the moment well when a phone call changed his life, informing him that he had been appointed Coadjutor Archbishop of the Archdiocese of Grouard-McLennan.

“I was certainly surprised,” he said. “I’ve done my best in all the tasks entrusted to me in the past, but I truly didn’t believe anyone would see in me the capacity to be a bishop. When the Apostolic Nuncio called me, I honestly thought there must have been a mistake.”

And yet, he said yes. That yes was not rooted in confidence in his own ability, but in a lifelong habit of trusting in God’s grace—a theme that has quietly shaped his own journey from the very beginning.

Born on April 12, 1964, in Hull (now Gatineau), Quebec, Archbishop Duval was raised in a devout Catholic family. At just 13 years old, during a trip to the United States, he first felt a stirring toward religious life. That sense of calling grew stronger at 19—even while he was in a relationship. A pivotal conversation with his parish priest, a Redemptorist, helped him discern the path forward.

In 1985, Archbishop Duval entered the Redemptorist novitiate at Sainte-Anne-de-Beaupré. He professed his first vows the following year, and his perpetual vows in 1989. After completing a Master’s degree in theology at Laval University, he was ordained to the priesthood on June 12, 1993, at the Notre-Dame-du-Perpétuel-Secours Parish in Sherbrooke.

His early priesthood was deeply shaped by ministry with young people—a calling that would remain close to his heart. From 1998 to 2000, he served as Director of the Redemptorist Youth Mission Team, and later led the Youth and Vocational Ministry from 2002 to 2008.

“At the beginning of my ministry, I worked mostly with teenagers,” he reflected. “While, as a priest, I was there to teach and guide, I believe these young people taught me much more about how to be a good priest and a good witness of Jesus than I was able to teach them.”

His various assignments in Haiti and across Quebec, Ontario, and New Brunswick broadened his experience of pastoral ministry. Whether working in parishes, schools, or pilgrimage sites like Sainte-Anne-de-Beaupré, Archbishop Duval said that each encounter helped prepare him for something more.

One of the most formative roles of his priesthood came when he was elected Provincial Superior—first of the former French-Canadian Redemptorist province, and then of the newly unified Province of Canada in 2019. The responsibility was significant, and at times daunting, but it taught him something essential: to trust that God equips those He calls. “The Lord certainly prepares us for the tasks He asks of us,” he said. “I wouldn’t have been able to say yes to this appointment if I hadn’t first served as Provincial Superior. The most important lesson I’ve learned is to trust in the Lord. If it is truly He who is asking us to be there, He will provide. It’s often uncomfortable because we never know how or when, but He always provides.”

Now stepping into episcopal leadership, Archbishop Duval is especially grateful for the opportunity to serve alongside current archbishop Gérard Pettipas, C.Ss.R., especially during the final months before his retirement. At the same time, he looks ahead with curiosity and reverence as he begins to discover the people and cultures that make up the archdiocese.

“This new responsibility now leads me to discover the diocese, as well as its priests and faithful, in a more personal way,” he remarked. “I am here to serve. How will that take shape? It will require taking the time to visit, to listen, and to learn.”

Though new to the region, he is already inspired by its rich cultural diversity, which includes Indigenous communities, Francophones, and the faithful who immigrated from the Philippines, Africa, and Eastern Europe. “It will be truly interesting to discover the particularities they bring to the faith of our region,” he added.

When asked about what will sustain him in this new role, Archbishop Duval did not speak of credentials or strategies. Instead, he answered with the simplicity of someone who has spent a lifetime walking by faith. “The Lord is my strength,” he said. “Whether it’s the gifts and talents He placed within me, the experience He has allowed me to gain, or simply the graces of the moment for a particular task—I truly receive everything as grace. And I am in awe of what God dares to do with me.”

As he begins this new chapter, Archbishop Duval hopes that, over time, the people of the archdiocese will come to see him as a pastor close to Christ and close to them. “I hope they will find in me a man passionate about Christ, who wants, in his weaknesses and limitations, to follow His example as best he can,” he said. “And with the faithful here, to continue to build His Church— so that others can meet Him and come to know themselves as sons and daughters of God.”