Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Vancouver

On 24 July 1846, the Diocese of Vancouver Island was erected on territory split off from the Apostolic Vicariate of Oregon (based in the US Oregon Territory; now Diocese of Victoria).

Holy Rosary Cathedral pipe organ

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.

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 led 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[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.

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 in October 1931.

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.

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.[10]

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."

The Archdiocese is now working in a significant infrastructure upgrade. This includes seismic upgrades to many churches and schools.[11] Their vision is focused on intentionally helping people experience God's merciful love through four key ways: Making Every Sunday Matter, Getting Closer to Jesus, Strengthening Marriages and Families, and Developing Parish Leadership and Support. The Archdiocese of Vancouver is considered to be among the most conservative of Canada.[12]

In 2013, the Archdiocese of Vancouver issued an Expression of Apology and Hope to the Truth and Reconciliation Commission of Canada over its role in implementing the Canadian government's residential schools system.[13] All records held by the Archdiocese of Vancouver regarding residential schools were submitted to the TRC, and they remain available for review. The TRC approved of the submission made by the Archdiocese, and Archbishop Michael Miller addressed the Commission in September 2013 at the Pacific Coliseum.[14]

In June 2015, the Archdiocese repeated its "sincere and heartfert apology for the role that the Church played in the federal government's policy which involved foribly separating children from their families and placing them in residential schools".[15] In June 2021, the Archdiocese issued a formal apology to First Nations over its role in the genocidal residential schools system, with Archbishop J. Michael Miller stating that "the Church was unquestionably wrong in implementing a government colonialist policy which resulted in devastation for children, families and communities."[16]

Catholic Schools in the Archdiocese of Vancouver have worked with local Indigenous leaders to build bridges to a deeper understanding of history and a clearer path towards reconciliation. Following the TRC Calls to Action, Points 61.1 to 61.5, the Archdiocese of Vancouver is involved in projects honouring Indigenous art, music, and language preservation and revitalization, and looks forward to more opportunities to create understanding, empathy, and respect.[17]

In February 2022, the Archdiocese of Vancouver pledged $2.5 million over five years to the Indigineous Reconciliation Fund, which seeks to support projects that are determined locally, in collaboration with First Nations, Métis and Inuit partners.[18] Funds will be focused on projects and programs that respond to the Truth and Reconciliation Commission Calls to Action #60, 61, and 73–76, which called for healing and reconciliation for communities and families, survivor-directed work related to cemetery sites of former residential schools, and language, culture, education, and community support.[18]

In the fall of 2018 following the disclosure of global sexual abuse by clergy and on the advice and prompting of some victim-survivors as well as many others searching for justice, Archbishop J. Michael Miller, CSB, appointed a Committee to conduct a file review of historical cases of sexual abuse by clergy who served or resided in the Archdiocese of Vancouver.[19]

In 2019, the Archdiocese of Vancouver released a Report on Clergy Sexual Abuse, with 31 recommendations and responses. The report publicly named nine clergymen who were criminally convicted of sexual abuse or who had civil lawsuits related to abuse settled against them.[20][21] It was also acknowledged that the archdiocese was aware of 36 sex abuse cases since the 1950s, which involved 26 children.[20] The Archdiocese of Vancouver was the first among Canada's 60 Catholic dioceses to make this information public.[20]

In August 2020, a new sex abuse lawsuit was filed against the Archdiocese of Vancouver.[22] The lead plaintiff, identified only by the initials K.S. in the court documents, said the priest in charge of St. Francis of Assisi School, Father Michael Conaghan, sexually assaulted her while she was a student at the school in the '80s.[22] She was around 11 years old at the time of the alleged abuse.[22] Conaghan, who died four days after the lawsuit was filed, was not among the nine clergy listed by the Archiocese in 2019.[22]

In December 2020, the Archdiocese of Vancouver settled more sex abuse cases involved three additional priests who sexually abuse 13 previously undisclosed victims.[23] The three priests named were also not previously listed on the Archdiocese of Vancouver's credibly accused list.[23]

Augustin Dontenwill, the last Bishop of New Westminster and first Archbishop of Vancouver

J. Michael Miller has been Archbishop of Vancouver since 2009.

Below is a list of individuals who have led the Archdiocese of Vancouver and its antecedent jurisdictions since its founding.[25]

• Louis-Joseph d'Herbomez (1863–1890)
• Pierre-Paul Durieu (1890)

• Pierre-Paul Durieu (1890–1899)
• Augustin Dontenwill (1899–1908)

• Augustin Dontenwill (1908–1910)
• Neil McNeil (1910–1912)
• Timothy Casey (1912–1931)
• William Mark Duke (1931–1964)
• Martin Michael Johnson (1964–1969)
• James Carney (1969–1990)
• Adam Exner (1991–2004)
• Raymond Roussin (2004–2009)
• J. Michael Miller (2009–present)

Under the Code of Canon Law, the coadjutor bishop has the right of succession (cum jure successionis) upon the death, retirement or resignation of the diocesan bishop he is assisting.[26][27][28] All coadjutor ordinaries eventually succeeded to become head of the Archdiocese of Vancouver or its antecedent jurisdictions.

• Pierre-Paul Durieu (1875–1890), as coadjutor apostolic vicar
• Augustin Dontenwill (1897–1899), as coadjutor bishop
• William Mark Duke (1928–1931)
• Martin Michael Johnson (1954–1964)
• J. Michael Miller (2007–2009)

Unlike coadjutors, auxiliary bishops do not have the right of succession, per canon 975, §1 of the 1983 Code of Canon Law.[26] Only Carney went on to become Archbishop of Vancouver.

• Edward Quentin Jennings (1941–1946), appointed Bishop of Kamloops[29]
• James Carney (1966–1969), appointed Archbishop of Vancouver[30]
• Lawrence Sabatini (1978–1982), appointed Bishop of Kamloops[31]

Seven priests from the archdiocese subsequently became bishops of other dioceses outside of Vancouver.[32] The first year listed in brackets indicates the year they were ordained as a priest for the archdiocese.[33] 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.[30]

• Peter Mallon (1956–1990), appointed Bishop of Nelson in 1990[34]
• David Monroe (1967–2002), appointed Bishop of Kamloops in 2002.[35] Returned to the archdiocese after his retirement in 2016.[36]
• Richard Gagnon (1983–2004), appointed Bishop of Victoria, British Columbia in 2004[37]
• Gary Gordon (1982–2006), appointed Bishop of Whitehorse in 2006[38]
• Stephen Jensen (1980–2013), appointed Bishop of Prince George in 2013[39]
• Mark Hagemoen (1990–2013), appointed Bishop of Mackenzie–Fort Smith in 2013[40]
• Joseph Phuong Nguyen (1992–2016), appointed Bishop of Kamloops in 2016[41]
• Gary Franken (1989–2022), appointed Bishop of Saint Paul, Alberta in 2022

Aerial View of the Archdiocese's new Archbishop Carney Secondary School in the early 1990s

Convent of the Sacred Heart high school closed 1979. Now it is St. George's Junior School

• The Seminary of Christ the King, Mission, BC, is 1 of 2 Canadian high school seminaries. The other is located in Cornwall, Ontario.
• The Convent of Sacred Heart High School was an all-girls school, in Vancouver, opened in 1911.[42] The school was closed down in 1979[42] and sold to become St. George's School (Vancouver) junior school.
• Marian High School was an all girls school run by the Sisters of Charity of St. Louis. It was located in Burnaby BC, adjacent to St. Michael's Parish. It opened in 1965 and was closed by the archdiocese in 1988.

• St. Ann's Academy, of Vancouver (located by Holy Rosary Cathedral), was open 1888 & closed 1946.
• St. Ann's Academy, of New Westminster, was open 1865 & closed 1968.
• St. Peter's School, of New Westminster, was open 1945 & closed in 1968.
• Holy Ghost School, of Lulu Island, was opened 1947 & closed in 1955.
• In 1982, Little Flower Academy closed its elementary section of the school.[43]

Church of Westminster Abbey
at the 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.