Even as they began the busy work of transferring episcopal responsibility for Vancouver, it was the health and well-being of Pope Francis that was on everyone’s minds as the Holy Father announced that Archbishop Richard Smith would be the next Archbishop of Vancouver.
Speaking at a live-streamed press conference in Edmonton, Archbishop Smith said he was heartened by the outpouring of prayers he has been seeing for the Holy Father.
“What I have found beautiful over the last little while has been how the whole world has rallied in prayer for Pope Francis,” he said.
“He is the Pope, he is the head of the Church, he is our father,” said Archbishop Smith. “When a loved one is ill, you just rally, and you pray. You pray for God’s will. You pray for his recovery. It’s just so moving to see how beloved Pope Francis is to the whole world and how that has manifested in this outpouring of prayer.”
Archbishop Smith said he had the opportunity to work with the Pope during the historic papal visit to Canada in July 2022. The fact that Francis made the visit while his health was failing made it all the more remarkable.
“Even in a year of failing health, he still made the effort to come to Canada,” Archbishop Smith said.
For the Edmonton prelate, the visit demonstrated a path for the Church toward ministering to suffering people and those in need. “We need to open our hearts,” he said, and to approach people in ways suited to them so they can hear the Gospel and find hope.
“What I am very grateful to God for … was the opportunity that it gave me to draw closer to the Indigenous peoples of the area,” he said.
“I have really grown to love [our Indigenous people] and have a deep respect for their culture, their traditions, and their wisdom. Their openness to engage with me and with the Church has been a beautiful moment for me that I will treasure for a long time.”
Outside Holy Rosary Cathedral, Archbishop Miller was expressing similar sentiments to reporters who gathered after the mid-day Mass. “I know that people are praying for [Pope Francis] around the world,” he said in response to their questions about the Holy Father’s health.
During a Jubilee year dedicated to hope, he observed that there is something hopeful about the tradition of a Pope’s commitment to his ministry during illness, even to the end of his life.
“Many of you remember the sickness of JPII, suffering from Parkinson’s. People were encouraged by the witness he gave,” he said.
Answering a question about his soon-to-arrive replacement, Archbishop Miller said, “There is a wonderful successor coming to take my place, so I couldn’t be happier.”
Archbishop Miller told reporters that Archbishop Smith has been a leader in reconciliation with Indigenous peoples, accompanying Pope Francis during his 2022 visit.
“Vancouver is a wonderful Catholic community, and a wider community as well,” he said. “It’s been a pleasure and an honour—some fun, a few heartaches—but it’s been a wonderful 17 years.”
In an interview later with The B.C. Catholic, Archbishop Smith made Christ, not himself, the focus of the conversation.
“We don’t accomplish anything,” he said when asked about his time as Archbishop of Edmonton. “It’s the Lord that accomplishes things through us.”
Archbishop Smith brings a wealth of experience from his time as a priest and bishop across Canada. He has learned that while “everywhere has its own colour and culture, the mission to make Jesus known and to invite people into covenantal love with him” remains the same.
“I do think 1 Peter is really important for us right now,” he said. “Always be ready to articulate to others the reason for our hope.”
By putting all the focus on Christ, Archbishop Smith hopes people learn one thing about him: that he cares deeply about evangelization.
“The world needs Jesus Christ – full stop,” he said. “He is the answer. We need to do everything we can in an increasingly secularized society to make him known.”
Vancouver is essentially unknown to Archbishop Smith, and he is excited to explore his new home.
“My first priority is to talk to people and listen – hear from the local people, from the clergy,” he said, to look at “the challenges they see and how best to confront those challenges.”
While he was surprised to find out he would be moving to Vancouver, he is quick to offer it to God. “We all understand that in this ministry [the episcopacy], it is Jesus who decides,” he said.
He also appreciates the legacy being left by Archbishop Miller.
“He is such a great leader,” he said. “He is a man who has a great work ethic. A man who has a deep, deep love of the Church.”
He also hopes “that people will sense in me what they have sensed in him: a deeply held desire to make the Lord known.”
In the meantime, he said he is keeping all of Vancouver in his prayers and asked that everyone pray for him during this transition.
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Archbishop Smith took a moment during a busy day of meetings and interviews to send a special message to Vancouver Catholics:
Hello, everybody. I am glad to have this opportunity to greet you all the way from Edmonton.
News came out today that I have the enormous task of succeeding Archbishop Miller as Archbishop of Vancouver. I am looking forward to the challenge and to meeting you – deacons, consecrated women and men, the lay faithful, all of you.
I hear great things. The Archdiocese has a wonderful reputation for being energetic and dynamic – committed to the Gospel and dedicated to the mission of the Church. Blessings on you for all you have been doing and for all the great ministry under the leadership of Archbishop Miller.
We are working out the details for when the transition will take place. I will be praying for all of you in the meantime and ask for your prayers too.
 
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Posted on February 27, 2025