Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Vancouver

Archdiocese of Vancouver
Archidioecesis Vancouveriensis[1]

The Coat of Arms of the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Vancouver
Location
Country Canada
Territory South West British Columbia
Ecclesiastical province Vancouver
Statistics
Area 119,439 km2 (46,116 sq mi)
Population
- Catholics

477,792[2] (17.8%)
Information
Denomination Roman Catholic
Rite Roman Rite
Established 14 December 1863
Cathedral Holy Rosary Cathedral (Vancouver)
Current leadership
Pope Francis
Archbishop John Michael Miller, CSB
Suffragans David John James Monroe
Bishop of Kamloops
John Dennis Corriveau
Bishop of Nelson
Gerald William Wiesner
Bishop of Prince George
Richard Joseph Gagnon
Bishop of Victoria
Website
rcav.org
Holy Rosary Cathedral, Vancouver

The Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Vancouver (Latin: Archidioecesis Vancouveriensis) is a Roman Catholic archdiocese that includes part of the Province of British Columbia. It is the metropolitan see of the Ecclesiastical Province of Vancouver, which also includes the suffragan dioceses of Kamloops, Nelson, Prince George, and Victoria. The local ordinary of the archdiocese is Archbishop John Michael Miller, CSB.

Archdiocesan demographics

In 2010 the archdiocese contained 77 parishes, 16 missions, 93 diocesan priests, 105 religious priests, and 465,717 Catholics. It also has 120 female religious, 127 male religious, and 2 permanent deacons. There are 49 Catholic schools.

History

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

Holy Rosary Cathedral pipe organ

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[1] 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."

More information about the synod can be found at http://www.rcav.org/synod.

The B.C. Catholic's coverage of the synod can be found at: http://bcc.rcav.org/06-12-11.

Current Situation

The archdiocese is now working in a significant infrastructure upgrade. This includes seismic upgrades to many churches and schools.[3] The Archdiocese of Vancouver is considered to be among the most conservative of Canada.[4]

List of suffragan dioceses

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

Ordinaries

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.

Vancouver

Burnaby

Coquitlam

New Westminster

North Vancouver

Richmond

Surrey

Abbotsford

Agassiz

  • Saint Anthony of Padua

Aldergrove

  • Saints Joachim & Ann

Bella Coola

  • Holy Name of Mary

Boston Bar

  • Saint Joseph's

Bowen Island

Chilliwack

Crescent Beach

  • Holy Cross

Delta

Gibsons

Hope

Langley

Maple Ridge

Mission

Port Coquitlam

Port Moody

Powell River

Sechelt

Squamish

  • Saint Joseph's

West Vancouver

White Rock

Education

Catholic High Schools

Aerial View of the Archdiocese's new Archbishop Carney Secondary School
School City Est. Website Enrollment
Holy Cross Regional High School Surrey 1982 http://www.holycross.bc.ca/ ~780 (co-ed)
St. Thomas Aquinas Regional Secondary School North Vancouver 1953 http://www.aquinas.org/ ~600 (co-ed)
Archbishop Carney Regional Secondary School Port Coquitlam 1994 http://www.acrss.org/ ~750 (co-ed)
St. Patrick's Regional Secondary Vancouver 1928 http://www.stpats.bc.ca/ ~500 (co-ed)
St. Thomas More Collegiate (non-diocese) Burnaby 1960 http://www.stmc.bc.ca/ ~660 (co-ed)
St.John Brebeuf Regional Secondary Abbotsford 1992 http://www.stjohnbrebeuf.ca/ ~335 (co-ed)
Notre Dame Regional Secondary School Vancouver 1953 http://www.ndrs.org/ ~600 (co-ed)
St. Ann's Academy (high school re-established 1981) Kamloops 1910 http://www.stannsacademy.bc.ca/ ~600 (co-ed)
Vancouver College (non-diocese) Vancouver 1922 http://www.vc.bc.ca/ ~600 (boys)
Little Flower Academy (non-diocese) Vancouver 1927 http://www.lfabc.org/ ~470 (girls)
Convent of the Sacred Heart high school closed 1979. Now it's St. George's Junior School

Catholic Elementary Schools

School City Est. Website
Assumption School Powell River 1961 http://www.assumpschool.com/
Blessed Sacrament Vancouver 1954 http://www.ess.vancouver.bc.ca/
Cloverdale Catholic Surrey 1954 http://ccsunited.ca/
Corpus Christi Vancouver 1957 http://www.corpuschristi-school.ca
Holy Cross Burnaby 1959 http://www.holycrosselementary.ca/
Holy Trinity North Vancouver 1955 http://www.holytschool.org/
Immaculate Conception Delta 1959 http://www.icdelta.com/
Immaculate Conception Vancouver 1926 http://www.icschoolvancouver.com/
Our Lady of Fatima Coquitlam 1947 http://www.fatimaschool.ca/
Our Lady of Good Counsel Surrey 1957 http://www.ourladyofgoodcounselschool.ca/
Our Lady of Mercy Burnaby 1959 http://www.ourladyofmercy.ca/
Our Lady of Perpetual Help Vancouver 1927 http://www.olphbc.ca/
Our Lady of Sorrows Vancouver 1926 http://www.ourladyofsorrows.ca/
Our Lady of the Assumption Port Coquitlam 1982 http://www.assumptionschool.com/
Queen of All Saints Coquitlam 1996 http://www.queenofallsaintsschool.ca/
Sacred Heart Delta 1944 http://www.shsdelta.org/
St. Andrew's Vancouver 1937 http://www.standrewschool.ca/
St. Anthony of Padua Vancouver 1997 http://www.stanthonyofpaduaschool.ca/
St. Anthony's West Vancouver 1958 http://www.saswv.ca/
St. Augustine's Vancouver 1921 http://www.staugschool.ca/
St. Bernadette's Surrey 1986 http://www.stbernadetteparish.ca/
St. Catherine's Langley 1986 http://www.stcatherines.ca/
St. Edmund's North Vancouver 1911 http://www.stedmunds.ca/
St. Francis de Sales Burnaby 1954 http://www.stfrancisdesalesschool.ca/
St. Francis of Assisi Vancouver 1946 http://sfaschool.ca
St. Francis Xavier Vancouver 1940 http://www.sfxschool.ca/
St. Helen's Burnaby 1923 http://www.sthelensschool.ca/
St. James Abbotsford 1985 http://www.stjameselementary.ca/
St. Joseph's Vancouver 1922 http://www.stjoesschool-vancouver.org/
St. Joseph the Worker Richmond 1988 http://stjo.richmond.bc.ca/
St. Jude's Vancouver 1955 http://www.stjudevancouver.com/
St. Mary's Chilliwack 1948 http://www.stmarysschoolchwk.com/
St. Mary's Vancouver 1931 http://www.stmary.bc.ca/
St. Matthew's Surrey 2012 http://www.stmatthewselementary.ca/
St. Michael's Burnaby 1957 http://www.stmichaelschool.ca/
St. Patrick's Maple Ridge 1955 http://www.stpatsschool.org
St. Patrick's Vancouver 1922 http://stpatselementary.net/
St. Paul's Richmond 1960 http://www.stpaulschool.ca/
St. Pius X North Vancouver 1996 http://www.saintpius.ca/
Star of the Sea White Rock 1981 http://www.starofthesea.bc.ca/school/
Vancouver College Vancouver 1922 http://www.vc.bc.ca/

Catholic Universities, Colleges & Seminaries

Church of Westminster Abbey
@ Seminary of Christ the King

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

College City Est. Website Enrollment
St. Mark's College (UBC) Vancouver @ University of British Columbia 1956 http://www.stmarkscollege.ca/ ~30 (co-ed)
Corpus Christi College (UBC) Vancouver @ University of British Columbia http://www.corpuschristi.ca/ (co-ed)
Catholic Pacific College Walnut Grove Campus & Glover Road Campus in Langley, BC 1999 https://www.catholicpacific.ca/ (co-ed)
Seminary of Christ the King Mission 1931 http://www.sck.ca/pages/home.htm (men only)

Religious institutes

Religious communities of men

Religious communities of women

Cemeteries

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

Charitable Organizations

Health Care

St. Vincent's Heather is built on the old site of St. Vincent's Hospital.

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.

Hospital City Est. Religious institute Beds
St. Paul's Hospital (Vancouver) Vancouver 1894 the Sisters of Providence 500
St. Vincent's Hospital (Vancouver) Vancouver 1939 the Sisters of Charity 650
Mount Saint Joseph Hospital (1946) Vancouver 1921 the Missionary Sisters 208
Holy Family Hospital Vancouver 1947 the Sisters of Providence 218
Youville Residence Vancouver 1931 the Grey Sisters 152

Family support

Overseas assistance

Shelters

Social support

Notes

Publications

Retreats

References

  1. 1 2 In sublimi, Litterae Apostolicae, Dioecesis Neo-Westmonasteriensis in Archidioecesim erigitur Vancouveriensem denominandam., d. 19 m. Septembris a. 1908, Pius PP. X September 19, 1908 letter from Vatican Secretary of State declaring seat of Diocese of New Westminster transferred to City of Vancouver (Latin)
  2. Catholic hierarchy - Archdiocese of Vancouver (Statistics section) - Retrieved April 23, 2009
  3. "Infrastructure Renewal Project Brief". Archdiocese of Vancouver.
  4. Todd, Douglas. "Contrasting two B.C. Catholic dioceses – De Roo and Exner". Vancouver Sun.
  5. 1 2 Religious of the Sacred Heart - Retrieved May 15, 2009
  6. British Columbia Archival Union List - Retrieved May 15, 2009

External links

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Coordinates: 49°15′00″N 123°06′00″W / 49.2500°N 123.1000°W / 49.2500; -123.1000

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