Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Vancouver


The Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Vancouver is a Roman Catholic Latin archdiocese that includes part of the federal Province of British Columbia.
Its cathedral archiepiscopal see is the Holy Rosary Cathedral, dedicated to the diocesan patron saint Our Lady of the Rosary, in Vancouver, B.C.
The incumbent ordinary of the archdiocese is Archbishop J. Michael Miller, CSB.

Ecclesiastical province

The Archbishop of Vancouver is the Metropolitan see of the Ecclesiastical Province of Vancouver, which also includes as suffragan dioceses :
As per 2014, it pastorally served 430,000 Catholics on 119,439 km². 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.

Anniversaries of significance to the archdiocese

Precursor

On 24 July 1846, the Diocese of Vancouver Island was erected on territory split off from the Apostolic Vicariate of Oregon.

Oblates of Mary Immaculate years

On 14 December 1863, the Apostolic Vicariate of British Columbia was erected on territory split off from the Diocese of Vancouver Island). 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 soon ordained Titular Bishop of Miletopolis in 1864 and served the Catholic community until his death in 1890.
On 2 September 1890, the pre-diocesan Apostolic Vicariate of British Columbia becomes the Diocese of New Westminster. Another Oblate of Mary Immaculate French Bishop, Pierre-Paul Durieu, took over the responsibilities and served the community until his death in 1899.
On July 27 1894, during his tenure, the US Territory of Alaska was lost in the creation of the Apostolic Prefecture of Alaska.
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 was renamed as 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.
On 19 September 1908, the Diocese of New Westminster was elevated to the Metropolitan 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. In 1914, what is now called World War I broke 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 Saint 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 archbishopric lost territory twice, to establish suffragan sees : on February 22 1936 the Diocese of Nelson was erected and on December 22 1945 the Diocese of Kamloops. These new dioceses helped erect a new high school, new elementary schools & parishes.: Lost territory to establish Diocese of Nelson
The bishop of Nelson, Martin Michael Johnston, became Coadjutor Archbishop of Vancouver, in 1954, to assist Archbishop Duke during Duke's last 10 years of governance. Bishop Johnston became Archbishop of Vancouver on 1964 and retired in 1969. During Archbishop Johnston's tenure, the Vicariate of Prince Rupert was elevated to Diocese of Prince George, in 1967.

Project Advance years

Auxiliary Bishop James Carney became Archbishop of Vancouver in 1969. Carney became the first Vancouver-born bishop to be appointed to the Archdiocese. During his tenure 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.
It enjoyed a Papal visit from Pope John Paul II in August 1984.

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 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.

Coat of Arms

The precious mitre, featured at the top, is a standard for diocesan armorial bearings.
Charges on the Escutcheon
Escutcheon meaning the shield featured in heraldry.
Heraldic Rose
The heraldic rose on the top left symbolizes Holy Rosary Cathedral’s dedication to Our Lady of the Holy Rosary.
Pacific Dogwood
The Pacific dogwood on the top right is the floral symbol of the province British Columbia.
Chi-Rho
Chi-Rho ⳩ is the Greek monogram for Christ. Formed by superimposing the first two letters of the Greek word ΧΡΙΣΤΟΣ meaning Christ.
Three Chevrons
The three chevrons represent the North Shore Mountains that overlook Vancouver. The mountains depicted are intended to represent the Hollyburn, Grouse and Seymour mountaintops.
The Barque of St. Peter
The Barque of St. Peter, the ship, symbolises the church. On the escutcheon it is depicted as casting a net into the ocean referencing Matthew 4:18-19:
"As he walked by the Sea of Galilee, he saw two brothers, Simon who is called Peter and Andrew his brother, casting a net into the sea; for they were fishermen. And he said to them, “Follow me, and I will make you fishers of men.”"''

Leadership

Ordinaries

Below is a list of individuals who have led the Archdiocese of Vancouver and its antecedent jurisdictions since its founding.

Apostolic Vicars of British Columbia

Under the Code of Canon Law, the coadjutor bishop has the right of succession upon the death, retirement or resignation of the diocesan bishop he is assisting. All coadjutor ordinaries eventually succeeded to become head of the Archdiocese of Vancouver or its antecedent jurisdictions.
Unlike coadjutors, auxiliary bishops do not have the right of succession, per canon 975, §1 of the 1983 Code of Canon Law. Only Carney went on to become Archbishop of Vancouver.
Seven priests from the Archdiocese subsequently became bishops of other dioceses outside of Vancouver. The first year listed in brackets indicates the year they were ordained as a priest for the Archdiocese. This list omits Carney; though he was a priest for the Archdiocese from 1942 until 1966, he subsequently became auxiliary bishop of the same archdiocese in 1966, and Archbishop of Vancouver in 1969.
The churches offer masses in the following languages: Arabic, Chinese, Chinese, 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
Aldergrove
Bella Coola
Boston Bar
Bowen Island
Chilliwack
Delta
Gibsons
Hope
Langley
Maple Ridge
Mission
Port Coquitlam
Port Moody
Powell River
Sechelt
Squamish
West Vancouver

Catholic High Schools

SchoolCityEst.WebsiteEnrollment
Holy Cross Regional High SchoolSurrey1982http://www.holycross.bc.ca/~780
St. Thomas Aquinas Regional Secondary SchoolNorth Vancouver1953http://www.aquinas.org/~600
Archbishop Carney Regional Secondary SchoolPort Coquitlam1994http://www.acrss.org/~750
St. Patrick's Regional SecondaryVancouver1928http://www.stpats.bc.ca/~500
St. Thomas More Collegiate Burnaby1960http://www.stmc.bc.ca/~660
St. John Brebeuf Regional SecondaryAbbotsford1992http://www.stjohnbrebeuf.ca/~335
Notre Dame Regional Secondary SchoolVancouver1953http://www.ndrs.org/~600
Traditional Learning AcademyCoquitlam1991http://traditionallearning.com/
Vancouver College Vancouver1922http://www.vc.bc.ca/~600
Little Flower Academy Vancouver1927http://www.lfabc.org/~470

At present there are no Catholic universities, but, as per Archdiocesan Synod, there are plans to build one in the future.
CollegeCityEst.WebsiteEnrollment
St. Mark's College Vancouver @ University of British Columbia1956http://www.stmarkscollege.ca/~30
Corpus Christi College Vancouver @ University of British Columbiahttp://www.corpuschristi.ca/
Catholic Pacific CollegeWalnut Grove Campus & Glover Road Campus in Langley, BC1999https://www.catholicpacific.ca/
Seminary of Christ the KingMission1931http://www.sck.ca/

Religious institutes

Religious communities of men

, 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.
HospitalCityEst.Religious instituteBeds
St. Paul's Hospital Vancouver1894the Sisters of Providence500
St. Vincent's Hospital Vancouver1939the Sisters of Charity650
Mount Saint Joseph Hospital Vancouver1921the Missionary Sisters208
Holy Family HospitalVancouver1947the Sisters of Providence218
Youville ResidenceVancouver1931the Grey Sisters152

Family support
Overseas assistance
Shelters
Social support