Bishop Fred Colli

About Bishop Fred Colli

Bishops Public Statements

Bishop Fred Joseph Colli was born on June 17, 1949, in St. Catharines, Ontario. He was ordained a priest on June 21, 1975, and served as Associate Pastor of St. Kevin's Parish, Welland, Ontario, until 1978. He did Marriage Tribunal work for the Diocese of St. Catharines from 1978 until 1994. He served as Chancellor of the Diocese of St. Catharines from 1980 - 1994. He was pastor of St. Julia's Church, St. Catharines, from 1986 to 1994. On Dec. 19, 1994, he was named Auxiliary Bishop of Ottawa and on February 2, 1999, he was named Bishop of Thunder Bay by Pope John Paul II.

For the Ontario Conference of Catholic Bishops, Bishop Colli is on the Commission for Education and the Ontario Association of Parents for Catholic Education.

Bishop Colli has a sister.

Email: bishoptb@dotb.ca

Bishop Colli's Coat of Arms

Coat of Arms

The crest is divided into two sections by a chevron. The upper half contains a "peace dove" which is a symbol from the crest of the Diocese of St. Catharines, Bishop Colli's place of birth. The dove also represents Bishop Colli's first name which is "Frederick" and means "peaceful ruler." The Lily represents the Blessed Virgin Mary who was a faithful servant of God, and whose words are in the motto of Bishop Colli's crest, "Holy is God's Name," from Mary's great prayer, the Magnificat. The lower part of the crest contains a red cross, showing that a bishop is a servant of Jesus and the three hills at the bottom of the crest represent the bishop's surname, "Colli," which means "hills."