Category: BC Catholic

Thirteen young people from the Archdiocese of Vancouver will join more than half a million others from 146 countries in Rome this week for the Jubilee of Youth, part of the Church’s Jubilee Year celebrations.

The Vancouver pilgrims include individuals and groups from Holy Rosary Cathedral, St. Patrick’s, and St. Andrew’s parishes in Vancouver, and St. Peter’s in New Westminster. They gathered July 11 at the John Paul II Pastoral Centre for Mass and a reflection session to prepare spiritually for the pilgrimage.

They will be among some 1,000 Canadian youth expected at the July 28–Aug. 3 events, which include a special Canadian gathering July 29 at Sant’Andrea della Valle Church. The two-hour celebration will feature a youth-led welcome, bilingual Scripture readings, faith-sharing, musical performances, and witness panels with youth and bishops. It will conclude with a commissioning prayer and symbolic sending forth.

Several Canadian bishops, along with priests, deacons, religious sisters and brothers, and lay leaders, will be present. The Canadian Conference of Catholic Bishops has invited the faithful across the country to pray for the young pilgrims as they seek to deepen their relationship with Christ and offer a powerful witness to the Church’s life in Canada and around the world.

While 68 per cent of attendees will be from Europe, young people will be coming from four other continents and from war zones and areas of serious conflict, Archbishop Rino Fisichella, a pro-prefect of the Dicastery for Evangelization, said July 23.

“Essentially, this moment of celebration and joy also aims to embrace all young people around the world, indicating that it will be a genuine moment of peace and peace-building in the world,” he said at a Vatican news conference.

“I am thinking in particular of the Christian young people of Ukraine, the Middle East, Syria, Gaza, and Iran,” said Lamberto Giannini, Rome’s prefect, who coordinates maintaining law and order in the city. The seven-day event during the Jubilee of Hope will be “in communion with all of them, because it is for them above all that hope is offered today, and not just any hope, but as we have been taught, the hope that does not disappoint,” he said.

The Vatican news conference featured representatives of the Italian national, regional, and local governments, as well as police and civil protection authorities. They provided many details about what is slated to be the largest of all the jubilee celebrations scheduled for the Holy Year, which has drawn nearly 17 million people so far, the archbishop said.

CAMROSE — Kevin Keech never expected a detour into the Catholic Church when he first pursued a career in policing, let alone a call to serve at the altar. But after years of discernment and personal trials, the retired Camrose police sergeant will be ordained to the permanent diaconate on July 22 at St. Joseph’s Basilica in Edmonton.

Bishop Paul Terrio, retired bishop of the Diocese of St. Paul, will preside over the ceremony. Keech is one of three men being ordained that day and will serve at his home parish, St. Francis Xavier in Camrose, where he and his family have been active for many years. He joins a growing group of 36 permanent deacons serving the Archdiocese of Edmonton.

Keech’s faith journey began in childhood with a Protestant upbringing, followed by years spent largely outside the Church. His return to faith took root after meeting Amelia, the devout Catholic woman he would eventually marry in 1990.

“She kindly invited me to tag along” to Easter liturgies, he recalled. “My introduction to the Easter Triduum was as a non-practising Lutheran who had not attended a church in years. What a surprise it was!”

Their growing family — daughters Megan, Letisha, and Kayla — was the centre of their life together. But it was a near-fatal work accident in 1994 that caused Keech to question the trajectory of his life. He began to discern whether God was calling him toward something deeper.

In 2000, Keech became Catholic. Yet even after entering the Church, faith was not a quick fix.

“I still had an incredibly stressful career to contend with,” he said. “The stress of the job had built up … I struggled to find balance in work, marriage, and family life.”

Eventually, with help from his parish priest and the sacraments, he began to rebuild.

One of the hidden influences during those difficult years was his mother-in-law Maria. “Parishioners referred to her as a prayer warrior,” he said. “I realized that she had been my silent spiritual director.”

Following her death in 2019, Keech began to sense a new prompting — one he believes Maria had quietly interceded for. “It was during my morning prayer routine on several consecutive days that I began to feel a strong calling to the diaconate,” he said. “I felt as if what Maria wanted to tell me on earth was now coming via the Holy Spirit in a way I could no longer ignore.”

He retired from his second career in information technology and applied to the archdiocese’s diaconate formation program in 2020.

“Here I am Lord, I come to do your will,” he said.

OTTAWA — As the Jubilee Year of Hope unfolds, the Canadian Conference of Catholic Bishops (CCCB) has released a video and pastoral resources to mark the fifth World Day for Grandparents and the Elderly, July 27.

Developed by the CCCB’s Office for Family and Life, the initiative invites parishes, families, and communities across Canada to recognize the elderly not as symbols of decline, but as vibrant carriers of faith and hope.

Filmed in St. John’s, Newfoundland, the promotional video highlights the importance of intergenerational relationships between children and grandparents — both biological and spiritual. It acknowledges the reality of children living far from their grandparents and the creative ways communications technology helps maintain those bonds.

The campaign is anchored in the message of Pope Francis for this year’s World Day for Grandparents and the Elderly. The annual observance, instituted by the Pope in 2021, is held on or near the feast of Sts. Joachim and Anne — the grandparents of Jesus — celebrated July 26.

In his message, Pope Francis encourages both society and the Church to see the elderly as the pinnacle of life — those whose wisdom forms the foundation for a better future.

“Embracing the elderly helps us to understand that life is more than just the present moment, and should not be wasted in superficial encounters and fleeting relationships,” he wrote. “Instead, life is constantly pointing us toward the future.”

“Christian hope always urges us to be more daring, to think big, to be dissatisfied with things the way they are. In this case, it urges us to work for a change that can restore the esteem and affection to which the elderly are entitled,” he said.

In Catholic tradition, the elderly are seen as guardians of memory and faith — witnesses to hope who quietly shape the spiritual fabric of families and communities. The CCCB video and resources underscore this role, drawing attention to the value of intergenerational bonds rooted in trust, prayer, and mutual care.

To turn reflection into action, the CCCB is offering resources to enrich both family and parish life. Families are encouraged to organize storytelling sessions with elderly relatives, create spiritual bouquets, and light candles for their intentions.

Parishes are invited to offer blessings for grandparents at all Masses July 27, invoke the intercession of Sts. Joachim and Anne, and consider launching initiatives such as “adopt-a-grandparent” programs, coffee gatherings, novenas, or a dedicated Ministry for Grandparents.

These pastoral ideas echo Pope Francis’s call for a “revolution of tenderness and care” to help “restore hope and dignity to those who feel forgotten.”

This day is a reminder that hope is not reserved for the young or the strong.

It’s been a busy few weeks, so we’re taking this space to catch up on recent letters, including some farewells and welcomes for Archbishop Miller and Archbishop Smith. — Editor

 I congratulate Archbishop J. Michael Miller for his foresight and the initiatives he introduced to foster vocations in our Archdiocese.

As a past president of the Serra Club of Vancouver, I saw how his strategy of appointing young priests as vocation directors helped build strong, authentic relationships with youth. With Serra Club support, these directors visited schools and parishes, promoting a culture of vocations.

Fathers James Hughes and Mark Schwab stood out for their charisma and dedication. The founding of Redemptoris Mater Seminary and the St. John Vianney Fund further strengthened vocational growth, inviting seminarians from around the world.

What a legacy Archbishop Miller leaves after 18 years of pastoral leadership.

Cleto Dos Remedios
Vancouver

The parishioners of Pembroke, Ont., were blessed to have Archbishop Richard Smith — then Bishop Smith — as our shepherd. I understand what the people of Edmonton must feel in saying goodbye to a good bishop.

I now pray that Our Blessed Mother will wrap her arms around Archbishop Smith as he begins his new mission in Vancouver, leading her Son’s flock with strength and love.

Susan Dagenais
Pembroke

Catholics across the Archdiocese are invited to pray, fast, and witness to human dignity.

The first 40 Days for Life campaign in Vancouver began in 2010 through a collaboration of Catholic and pro-life leaders, including Betty Green, John Hof, and Cecilia Von Dehn, with support from the Archdiocese. 

Archbishop Miller’s 2010 letter encouraged us to be “ardent witnesses to the dignity of human life,” and Father Larry Lynn, our pro-life chaplain, continues to lead with compassion and clarity.

Today, all 77 parishes have been invited to participate. Whether by joining the vigil at 32nd and Willow, hosting Eucharistic adoration, or praying the Reverence for Life prayer, every effort unites us in responding to 2 Chronicles 7:14.

Could The B.C. Catholic help spark renewed interest in parishes that haven’t yet joined? This is the largest coordinated pro-life witness in the world — and well worth promoting.

Nancy Lim
Member, 40 Days for Life Coordinating Team
Vancouver

When the Archdiocese moved its central office from Robson Street, the homeless shelter remained on site for another seven years thanks to Archbishop Miller, who secured an agreement with the developer to keep the doors open until new accommodations were found.

That meant 100 to 120 homeless men had a warm bed every night and coffee in the morning. Yes, the freight elevator sometimes failed, the ceiling leaked, the washers broke, and staff worked through power outages by flashlight.

In a message for Sea Sunday, Cardinal Michael Czerny acknowledged that while seafarers witness the “boundless beauty” of the seas, they also endure its “physical, spiritual, and social darkness.”

The Catholic Church observes Sea Sunday on the second Sunday of July each year, praying and advocating for seafarers and all who work at sea.

Ahead of this year’s observance, Cardinal Czerny, prefect of the Vatican’s Dicastery for Promoting Integral Human Development, released a reflection on the often-overlooked labour of seafarers.

He began by highlighting the millions of workers in the maritime industry — from ship crews to dockworkers, coast guard personnel, and customs officers — whose “hidden efforts,” he wrote, bring many of our daily necessities to shore.

“Today as well as in the past,” he wrote, “seafaring can entail absence from home and land, for months and even years. Both the seafarers and their families may miss significant moments in the other’s life.”

In addition to long separations, many seafarers are “threatened by injustices, exploitation, and inequality,” the Cardinal said.

He also praised the Church’s seafarers’ ministry, which provides pastoral care and advocates for the rights of maritime workers. Known internationally as Stella Maris — Latin for “Star of the Sea,” an ancient title for the Blessed Virgin Mary — the ministry operates in hundreds of ports around the world.

This “ministry of the sea,” Czerny wrote, helps “bring the peripheral into the centre” by encountering maritime workers in person and in prayer, improving their material and spiritual conditions, defending their dignity and rights, and promoting stronger international cooperation.

In the second half of his message, Cardinal Czerny reflected on two episodes in Church history connected to the sea.

First, he recalled the Apostle Paul’s journey to Corinth — a major port city — where Paul found a large following but soon faced divisions within the new Christian community. Czerny said Paul’s First Letter to the Corinthians offers encouragement today to “work for increased unity, not only among people who are different from each other, but also among people who are experiencing division and mutual tensions.”

He also noted how the sea has long served as a channel for evangelization. “The Church today,” he wrote, “can draw inspiration from the inhabitants of shoreside communities who were the first to hear the utterly new message of Christ from seafaring apostles and other missionaries.”

“We cannot,” Czerny concluded, “be open to life’s possibilities if we prefer the comforts of the familiar.”

In the Archdiocese of Vancouver, parishes are invited to include seafarers, as well as port chaplains and volunteers who support them, in the prayers of the faithful.

The Canadian Conference of Catholic Bishops (CCCB) has issued a two-page Note on Prayer for the Jubilee of Hope. The note, written by the bishops’ Commission for Doctrine, outlines characteristics and forms of Christian prayer, and concludes by sharing prayer resources, compiled by the bishops’ Ad hoc Committee for the Jubilee.

Published as part of the CCCB’s ongoing efforts to encourage spiritual renewal during the jubilee year, the document invites the faithful to rediscover the heart of Christian life through prayer. 

It offers a reflection on how prayer connects believers more deeply with God and one another, and emphasizes that prayer is rooted in trust and hope.

This resource forms part of a wider national initiative to encourage participation in the jubilee, proclaimed by Pope Francis for 2025.

A Note on Prayer

Prayer is a universal human activity. It can be found in every country, in every period of human history, at every age of life. It expresses the awareness of a relationship with a Being greater than oneself, distinct from oneself, present within oneself.

Christian prayer is clearly marked by faith in God who has made himself known, not only as the Creator of the universe, but as Father, Son and Holy Spirit. The faithful pray to the Father through the Son in the Spirit.

We learn to pray, just as we learn to speak, walk or sing. The Gospel offers a profound insight into this. Impressed by Jesus’ prayer, the disciples ask him to teach them how to pray: he teaches them the “Our Father,” with its two poles: God and humanity. Several other Gospel passages show Jesus at prayer, in close contact with his Father (abba = dad), jubilant under the action of the Holy Spirit (Mt 11:25–27), in anguish before death (Lk 22:39–46), and confident on the Cross (Mt 27:46; Lk 23:46). The great prayer recounted in chapter 17 of Saint John’s Gospel reveals the heart of Christ.

Prayer is personal, that is, it expresses and enriches the faith of each person, unique and precious in God’s eyes. It is also communal, since it is lived in union with others, whether physically or spiritually present, those living in this world and those who have already entered into eternity. It is spiritual:

“The Spirit helps us in our weakness; for we do not know how to pray as we ought, but that very Spirit intercedes with sighs too deep for words.” (Rom 8:26)

Prayer takes on different hues: adoration before God’s unfathomable mystery, thanksgiving for his countless and unceasing benefits, petition in the face of daily difficulties, intercession for our sisters and brothers in humanity. It can be vocal (out loud), mental (in the mind through meditation); the body participates (seated to listen; kneeling to adore and implore), eyes closed and recollected.

Pilgrims will once again take to trails, parks, and parish pathways this summer as two popular pilgrimage series invite Catholics to walk in prayer and fellowship.

Fraser Valley Camino | July 22–25

Now in its third year, the Fraser Valley Camino will lead pilgrims 83 km over four days, from St. Anthony’s Parish in Agassiz to St. James in Abbotsford. The route passes through St. Mary’s in Chilliwack, then Yarrow and Sumas, ending on the Feast of St. James the Greater.

Organized by St. James Parish and part of the Jubilee Year’s theme of “Pilgrims of Hope,” the Camino offers a chance to grow in faith through shared prayer, walking, and reflection. Pilgrims are welcome to walk the entire route or join for shorter segments.

Registration closes Monday, July 14. For details, visit beholdvancouver.org/events or contact the parish at 604-864-8800 or stjamesabbotsford@gmail.com.

Holy Family Caminos | July & August

In Whistler, Our Lady of the Mountains Parish is again offering its Holy Family Caminos — a series of walking pilgrimages with daily Mass and retreat-style reflection. Pilgrims must bring their own food and gear for the wilderness treks.

• August 17–22: St. Joseph’s, Squamish to Our Lady of the Mountains (96 km). A challenging six-day backpacking pilgrimage through remote terrain, with five nights of camping.
    Cost: $25 admin fee plus $18 group campsite fee.
• August 29–31: Mount Currie to Our Lady of the Mountains (50 km). A three-day route with two nights of camping.
    Cost: $25 admin fee.

Pilgrims will hike scenic trails and spend time in silence and community, with daily liturgy and reflection along the way.

To register or request packing lists and waiver forms, contact whistlercatholicchurch@telus.net.

Whistler Hiking Masses | July–August

The parish is also offering short outdoor Masses on local trails this summer. All start at 9 a.m. on Saturdays:

• July 12: Blueberry Trail (2 km)
• July 26: Train Wreck (2.6 km)
• August 9: Rainbow Falls (5 km)
• August 23: Loggers Lake (2 km)

Your voice matters! Join the conversation by submitting a Letter to the Editor here.  

Cloverdale–Langley City MP Tamara Jansen has introduced a private member’s bill to stop the expansion of “medical assistance in dying (MAiD)” for mental illness alone.

Jansen’s Bill C-218 would amend the Criminal Code to prevent mental disorders from being considered a “grievous and irremediable medical condition” for the purposes of medical assistance in dying (MAiD).

The bill was read a first time in the House of Commons on June 20 and is scheduled for second reading at the next sitting of the House.

Speaking in the House, Jansen said, “Imagine your son or daughter battling depression for some time, after losing a job or maybe a broken relationship. Imagine they feel the loss so deep that they’re convinced the world would be better off with them, without them.”

Starting March 27, 2027, such Canadians “could walk into a doctor’s office and ask them to end their life,” she said.

“That’s not a future scenario, that’s the law right now waiting to take effect.”

The Trudeau government delayed expansion until 2024 and again until March 17, 2027, over concerns from medical and legal experts.

“Clinical experts have warned that there’s no evidence-based way to determine if someone with a mental illness would get better, and most do,” said Jansen. “But still the government is moving forward.”

Jansen said the proposed law sends a message to “struggling Canadians, trauma survivors, those battling depression, schizophrenia, PTSD” that “death is a solution we’re now willing to offer” in response to suffering.

“That’s not health care. That’s not compassion. It’s abandonment.”

She told MPs, “Mental illness is treatable. Recovery is possible, but only if we show up and help.”

Jansen’s bill is similar to 2023 legislation that was narrowly defeated in Parliament but delayed implementation of the federal law.

Abbotsford Conservative MP Ed Fast introduced Bill C-314, which would have stopped the expansion of Canada’s euthanasia regime. It was defeated at second reading on Oct. 18, 2023, by a 167–150 vote.

Fast gathered cross-party support for his legislation, with all 24 NDP members voting in favour of his bill and eight members of the Liberal Party breaking ranks from their colleagues. The Bloc Québécois held the balance of power on the vote, as each of its members voted against the Abbotsford, B.C., representative’s endeavour.

During the oral question period preceding the vote, Fast condemned reports “of Canadians crying out for help and being offered assisted suicide instead.”

He attacked “the sorry state of our mental health system,” saying, “Millions of Canadians oppose the government’s fascination with assisted death.”

A Christian political advocacy group praised Jansen’s bill and called on MPs to support it regardless of party.

PHOENIX — The B.C. Catholic and the Archdiocese of Vancouver’s communications office were recognized with a combined 21 awards at the Catholic Media Association’s annual conference.

The awards were announced June 27 during the association’s annual gala, concluding a four-day conference attended by more than 350 Catholic media professionals from across North America.

The B.C. Catholic earned 18 awards for writing, investigative reporting, special issues, photography, advertising, and editorial design, including multiple honours for its continuing coverage of medical assistance in dying (MAiD) in Canada.

Contributing writer Terry O’Neill received First Place in Best Investigative News Writing for “MAiD Accounting Shows Death is $283.85 a Person,” and Second Place for “MAiD and the Catholic Hospital,” examining the ethical and financial implications of MAiD and its proximity to Catholic health care. The paper’s “MAiD in Canada” special edition also earned Third Place in Best Special Supplement.

The awards are the latest recognition of the newspaper’s coverage of euthanasia and end-of-life care, an issue it was honoured for in May by the Canadian Christian Communicators Association, with O’Neill taking second place in the news story category for “MAiD and the Catholic Hospital” and the province’s decision to open a euthanasia facility on the grounds of St. Paul’s Hospital.

O’Neill investigating reporting on the growth of MAiD goes back to 2022 when he earned two first-place writing awards from the CMA and two from the CCCA for his reporting on the Fraser Health Authority’s MAiD practices.

“I’m deeply grateful for the recognition of our work — especially Terry’s investigative reporting on MAiD,” B.C. Catholic editor Paul Schratz said. “It’s a critical issue that’s barely being covered in Canada, and we had the chance to expand on that during our presentation on the role of Catholic journalism.”

In a two-hour master camp titled “What Makes Journalism ‘Catholic’?” Schratz and Canadian Catholic News members Laura Ieraci of ONE magazine and veteran Catholic News Service journalist Barb Fraze explored the nature of Catholic journalism, from fidelity to Church teaching to the pursuit of truth and charity in storytelling.

“When we explained what’s happening with euthanasia in Canada and put it in an American context, equivalent to more than 170,000 deaths,  people were stunned,” Schratz said.

“We had a line of people asking questions about our reporting ” Schratz added. “And all week long, people kept coming up to thank us for shedding light on a crisis they realize is coming their way.”

VATICAN CITY — Vancouver Archbishop Richard Smith was among 54 new metropolitan archbishops who received the pallium from Pope Leo XIV during a solemn Mass at St. Peter’s Basilica June 29, a sign of their communion with the Pope and responsibility to lead with unity, fraternity, and missionary zeal.

In his homily for the feast of Sts. Peter and Paul, the Pope said archbishops must set an example of “fraternity and reconciliation” within a Church that needs “unity in diversity.”

“The whole Church needs fraternity, which must be present in all of our relationships, whether between lay people and priests, priests and bishops, bishops and the Pope,” he said during his homily at Mass on the feast of Sts. Peter and Paul June 29.

“Fraternity is also needed in pastoral care, ecumenical dialogue and the friendly relations that the Church desires to maintain with the world,” the Pope said.

“Let us make an effort, then, to turn our differences into a workshop of unity and communion, of fraternity and reconciliation, so that everyone in the Church, each with his or her personal history, may learn to walk side by side,” he said.

The feast day celebration in St. Peter’s Basilica included the traditional blessing of the pallium, the woolen band that the heads of archdioceses wear around their shoulders over their Mass vestments and symbolizes an archbishop’s unity with the Pope and his authority and responsibility to care for the flock the Pope entrusted to him.

Pope Leo revived a tradition begun by St. John Paul II in 1983 by personally placing the pallium around the shoulders of the recently named archbishops.

Pope Francis had changed the ceremony starting in 2015. The late Pope had invited new archbishops to concelebrate Mass with him and be present for the blessing of the palliums as a way of underlining their bond of unity and communion with him, but the actual imposition of the pallium was done by the nuncio and took place in the archbishop’s archdiocese in the presence of his faithful and bishops from neighboring dioceses.

The Office for the Liturgical Celebrations of the Supreme Pontiff issued a formal notification June 11 that on June 29 Pope Leo would preside over the Eucharistic celebration, bless the palliums and impose them on the new metropolitan archbishops.

According to the Vatican, 54 archbishops from more than two dozen countries who were named over the past 12 months received the palliums. The Pope blessed the palliums after they were brought up from the crypt above the tomb of St. Peter. Each archbishop then approached Pope Leo by the altar and either knelt or bowed their head as the Pope placed the pallium over their shoulders.