The Archdiocese of Vancouver is a Catholic archdiocese which administers the parishes in its region. The Archdiocese was founded in 1863 when it split from the Diocese of Vancouver Island (now the Diocese of Victoria) and became the Apostolic Vicariate of British Columbia. In 1890, the name was changed to the Diocese of New Westminster, and in 1894, the Diocese transferred its Alaskan territory to the Apostolic Prefecture of Alaska. The Diocese of New Westminster was promoted to the Archdiocese of Vancouver in 1908 and became the metropolitan diocese for its ecclesiastical province.
Even before the Archdiocese was created in 1863, Catholic missionaries had been interacting with Indigenous communities. The Missionary Oblates of Mary Immaculate have been involved in the region since 1842 with the arrival of Modeste Demers. The Oblates wanted a diocese of their own to minister in without the interference of the local bishop. Thus, when the Apostolic Vicariate of British Columbia was created in 1863, it was headed by an Oblate.
During the Residential School System, the Archdiocese had several residential schools operating within its boundaries. While order and congregations are separate entities within the Catholic Church, they technically are under the authority of the local diocese due to their vows of obedience. As such, the Diocese provided assistance to the congregations working at these schools.
During the 1990s, the public became more aware of the impacts of residential schools. This led to an increase in litigation against the Government of Canada, which culminated in the creation of the Indian Residential School Settlement Agreement (IRSSA) in 2006. IRSSA outlined the process by which residential school litigation was carried out in addition to creating the Truth and Reconciliation Commission of Canada (TRC). In IRSSA, the diocese is named as “The Roman Catholic Archbishop of Vancouver.”
1818-2012