Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Vancouver

Archdiocesan demographics

As of December 2015, the archdiocese contained 76 parishes, seven missions, 110 diocesan priests, 106 religious priests, and approximately 407,000 baptized Catholics. It also has 107 female religious, 19 male religious, and 17 permanent deacons. There are 51 Catholic schools.

History

On 24 July 1846, the Diocese of Vancouver Island was erected from the Vicariate Apostolic of the Oregon Territory.

Oblates of Mary Immaculate years

On 14 December 1863, the Vicariate Apostolic of British Columbia was erected. A French priest, by the name Louis-Joseph D'Herbomez, from the Oblates of Mary Immaculate, became the first Vicar Apostolic of the newly formed territory. He was later ordained Bishop in 1864 and served the Catholic community until his death in 1890.

In 1890, the Vicariate of British Columbia becomes the Diocese of New Westminster. Another Oblates of Mary Immaculate French Bishop, Pierre-Paul Durieu, took over the responsibilities and served the community until his death in 1899. During his tenure, the territory of Alaska was lost in the creation of the Prefecture Apostolic of Alaska in 1894.

Another French Bishop, Augustin Dontenwill, took governance of the Diocese of New Westminster in 1899 and served the community until he resigned, to become the Superior General of the Oblates of Mary Immaculate, in 1908. Under his tenure the Holy Rosary Church was commissioned.

Under the Archdiocese of Victoria

In 1903, the Diocese of Vancouver Island was elevated to Archdiocese of Vancouver Island and in 1904, it changed to the Archdiocese of Victoria. A German-born Bishop, Bertram Orth, was appointed Archbishop in 1903 and lead the Archdiocese of Victoria and its suffrages until he resigned in 1908.

In September, 1908, the Diocese of New Westminster was elevated to the Archdiocese of Vancouver and in October, 1908, the Archdiocese of Victoria was lowered to the Diocese of Victoria. Father Alexander MacDonald, of Nova Scotia, was quickly appointed and ordained Bishop of Victoria.

The Canadian Bishops

For just over one year the Archdiocese of Vancouver had no bishop until Neil McNeil, Bishop of St. George’s, Newfoundland, became the first appointed Canadian Archbishop of Vancouver on 19 January 1910. His tenure was short, as he then went on to become the Archbishop of Toronto on 10 April 1912.

August, 1912, Timothy Casey, Bishop of Saint John in America, New Brunswick, becomes the 5th Archbishop of Vancouver. 1914 World War I breaks out and Archbishop Casey had to battle hard financial times for the Archdiocese. Under his governance, Holy Rosary Church became a Cathedral. He served his community until his death on October 1931.

The "Iron Duke" years

August 1928, a priest from St. John, New Brunswick, became Coadjutor Archbishop of Vancouver and on 5 October 1931, Bishop William Mark Duke became Archbishop of Vancouver. In his 32 years of service to his community Archbishop Duke had to deal with the Great Depression of the Dirty Thirties and later World War II. His strict disciplinarian beliefs and financial management of the Archdiocese earned him the title “Iron Duke”. The legacy that was left behind when Archbishop William Mark Duke retired in March 1964 is impressive. He helped establish St. Mark’s College at the University of British Columbia, 2 Catholic high schools, 1 non-diocese Catholic high school, 22 Catholic elementary schools, and 3 Catholic hospitals including many new parishes in the diocese alone. During his tenure the Diocese of Nelson was erected in 1936 and the Diocese of Kamloops was erected in 1945. These new diocese helped erect a new high school, new elementary schools & parishes.

The bishop of Nelson, Martin Michael Johnston, became Coadjutor Archbishop of Vancouver, in 1954, to assist Archbishop Duke during the last 10 years of governance. Bishop Johnston became Archbishop of Vancouver on 1964 and retired in 1969. During Archbishop Johnston tenure, the Vicariate of Prince Rupert was elevated to Diocese of Prince George, in 1967.

Project Advance years

Auxiliary Bishop, James Francis Carney, became Archbishop of Vancouver in 1969. Archbishop Carney became the first Vancouver born bishop to be appointed to the Archdiocese. During his tenure Archbishop Carney saw the need to rebuild many of the parishes, schools and hospitals that were showing their age. Project Advance was introduced into the community that required the parishes to raise funds. These funds went back into the community to help rebuild their parishes & schools and also to build new facilities, like Archbishop Carney Regional Secondary School, which was built in the Archbishop’s honour, after he died in 1990.

Archdiocesan synod

The archdiocese concluded a nine-year synod in December 2006. Lay and religious representatives from every parish, Catholic school, religious community, the local seminary, and Catholic organizations took part, as well as non-Catholic observers who were invited to the process.

Although it formally ran from October 2002 to October 2003, extensive preparation went into the synod as far back as 1998 during the period leading up to the Great Jubilee of the Year 2000. The synod’s aim was to bring the Church of Vancouver into the 21st century, from the “maintenance” mode it was in to more of a mission-driven model, as former Archbishop Emeritus Adam Exner, OMI, put it.

On December 3, 2006, at Holy Rosary Cathedral, Archbishop Raymond Roussin, SM, officially declared the synod closed, officially setting in motion the initiatives proposed.

According to the archdiocesan newspaper The B.C. Catholic, the first 20 declarations from the synod were to come into effect almost immediately. "Among the highlights are initiatives to encourage pastors to delegate more duties to the laity, to promote the faith formation of teachers, to initiate an adult faith formation strategy, to establish an office and vicar for evangelization, and to initiate a support group for priests."

Current Situation

The archdiocese is now working in a significant infrastructure upgrade. This includes seismic upgrades to many churches and schools. The Archdiocese of Vancouver is considered to be among the most conservative of Canada.

List of suffragan dioceses

The following are the dioceses under the direction of the Archdiocese of Vancouver:

Churches

The churches offer masses in the following languages: Arabic, Chinese (Cantonese), Chinese (Mandarin), Croatian, English, French, German, Hungarian, Indonesian, Italian, Korean, Laotian, Traditional Latin, Polish, Portuguese, Slovak, Spanish, Tagalog, and Vietnamese.

Catholic High Schools

Catholic Elementary Schools

Catholic Universities, Colleges & Seminaries

At present there are no Catholic universities, but, as per Archdiocesan Synod, there are plans to build one in the future.

Cemeteries

The Gardens of Gethsemani Cemetery & Mausoleum (Est. 1965), 15800 - 32nd Avenue, Surrey, B.C.

Charitable Organizations

Health Care

On March 31, 2000, St. Paul’s Hospital, Holy Family Hospital, & CHARA Health Care Society were consolidated into one legal entity and formed Providence Health Care, with eight sites in the city of Vancouver.

Although the Archdiocese is responsible for the creation of the hospitals & care facilities. It no long has direct control of these facilities as they are governed by a Board of Directors, the Congregation of Sisters & Providence Senior Leadership Team. Providence Health Care continues to provide Catholic health care.

Providence Health Care is presently developing the Legacy Project, which is to renew St. Paul’s Hospital into a state of the art research and teaching facility.

Family support

Overseas assistance

Shelters

Social support