“And, how is it?” he was often asked. “Well, you know,” he replied with a hint of humour, “he eats cereal like us, he prays to God like us.”

For a little over a year, from May 2016 until last July, Bishop Bruce Myers of the Anglican Diocese of Quebec lived with the cardinal. The Anglican bishopric, located a few blocks away in Old Quebec, was occupied by Bishop Dennis Drainville, the outgoing bishop. He asked his friend Lacroix if he could house his successor, Myers, for a while.

The arrangement opened an unexpected chapter in a tradition of friendship between Quebec City’s Catholics and Anglicans.

“I shared moments of prayer, daily meals, social life. I felt completely integrated in the life of this residence,” Myers said. “He was one of us, one of our family,” Lacroix added.

The complicity between the two men is striking. They often prayed together. And when Myers attended Mass, he refrained from receiving communion, respecting the Catholic teaching and tradition.

“I received the Eucharist spiritually with my confreres,” he said. “For me, it was one of the most important moments of each day, to be present, even if I wasn’t able to receive the Blessed Sacrament with my confreres.

“It has given me every day a little momentum toward reconciliation, more energy toward the day when we can gather at the same table of the Lord and share the same sacrament. It’s a manifestation of the real but imperfect communion between our two churches,” he explained.

“It was painful for him, but for us, too,” Lacroix agreed. The fact that Myers can participate in celebrations but not receive communion shows that “there is still a way to go” toward unity. “And it’s important that it’s visible, too. We wanted to be true. And it’s good that it’s suffering, because we don’t want it to stay that way. We want to achieve full unity.”

The two men often were seen together at the archbishop’s house, but also during celebrations at Notre-Dame of Quebec Cathedral and the Anglican Cathedral of the Holy Trinity. In 2016, the Anglicans even inaugurated a cathedra, or bishop’s throne, specifically reserved for the Catholic archbishop of Quebec.

“It’s not a matter of just praying by looking at each other from a distance. We share the prayer. There is a good chance, if we get closer to the Lord together, that there are steps that will be made,” said Lacroix, who said Pope Francis was happy to learn about his friendship with  Myers.

Myers then pointed to his pectoral cross. “Today, I wear the cross given by Lacroix and the two auxiliary bishops of Quebec. It’s a gift of enthronement they found for me in Rome. It was blessed by the Holy Father.”

The two bishops shared parts of their daily routine but also learned from one another. In that respect, Lacroix said he is particularly appreciative of Myers.

Myers noted that he benefited from hearing details about the ongoing reflection within Quebec Catholicism on the challenges of Christianity in today’s world. “I received a great episcopal formation from my neighbours,” he said.

In terms of ecumenism, the two religious leaders are convinced that unity will not come from a decree, but from experiences shared among people. 

Prior to his installation,  Myers worked on ecumenism for the Anglican Church of Canada.

“I always felt in my heart that it was not just me who was housed here at the archdiocese and who was in communion with you,” said Myers, turning to the cardinal. “I took the entire Anglican Diocese of Quebec with me. So it was an interpersonal relationship, but ecclesial at the same time.”

He added that he observed a difference in attitude among Anglican worshippers since the inauguration of the archbishop’s cathedra at Holy Trinity. “You’re seen in the cathedral almost as often as me. I see how people greet you: as a neighbour, as a friend. And that’s exactly what you are here,” Myers told the cardinal.

In recent months, Myers has lived at the Anglican bishopric, only a few minutes away from Lacroix. One evening the cardinal and a few colleagues went for a walk and realized they had not yet visited Myers at his home. 

They knocked on the door and started talking. Then Lacroix pretended to take Myers’ arm and told him, teasingly, “It’s time for you to come home now.”