The Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Vancouver (RCAV) continues the mission of Jesus Christ and the Catholic Church in Mainland Southwest British Columbia.
Archbishop Richard Smith is our chief pastor and leader, tending to both the spiritual and administrative needs of the Archdiocese.
History
Since 1863, the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Vancouver has been faithfully serving Catholics in the Lower Mainland of British Columbia.
Our beginnings go back to the Vicariate Apostolic of British Columbia, which was established in 1863 with the Oblate local superior, Bishop Louis-Joseph d’Herbomez, OMI, as the Vicar Apostolic. On September 19, 1908, Pope Pius X established the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Vancouver (RCAV) with Archbishop Augustin Dontenwill, OMI, appointed as the first Archbishop.
Geography
The Archdiocese of Vancouver covers approximately 120,000 km², including B.C.’s Lower Mainland and has roughly 419,600 baptized Catholics within its boundaries.
The suffragan dioceses of the Archdiocese, Kamloops, Nelson, Prince George, and Victoria, all led by their own bishops.
Statistics
The Catholic Church in Vancouver has undergone massive change since the mission outposts of the Oblates of Mary Immaculate of the 1800s. As of 2025, the Archdiocese has:
- 77 parishes
- 106 diocesan priests
- 100 religious priests
- 38 permanent deacons
- 112 consecrated women
- 23 professed/religious brothers
- 2,224 catechists
More than 80 organizations, associations, ministries and clubs help carry out the Church’s mission.
There are 52 Catholic schools and four colleges, including Corpus Christi College, St. Mark’s College and Catholic Pacific College and Seminary of Christ the King.
There are five Catholic hospitals, including Holy Family Hospital, Mount St. Joseph Hospital, St. Paul’s Hospital and St. Vincent’s Hospital.
Within the Archdiocese, we have one archdiocesan cemetery named Gardens of Gethsemani and two OMI cemeteries including St. Mary’s Chilliwack Cemetery and St. Peter’s New Westminster Cemetery.