Origin and history

The parish of St. Francis Xavier Parish () is the oldest Chinese Catholic community in Vancouver and the entire Archdiocese of Vancouver. He was born on 4 December 1933 in the Chinese district (Chinatown) of the city - on Princess Avenue Street - under the leadership of Father Hugh Sharkey and the Fathers of the Foreign Mission of Scarboro. The Grey Sisters of Pembroke, Ontario, formed the first parish school that same year.

From its humble beginnings in a Chinatown house, the community grew generation after generation. Father Peter Chow became the first Chinese priest of the parish in 1962. In 1975, the Happy Manor, a residence for the elderly, and a parish day care centre were opened. In 2004 the old church was sold and in 2008 the present temple was opened in 428 Great Northern Way, in the heart of Vancouver.

The community and its Marian devotion

Today the parish brings together more than 600 families and 20 active ministries, with masses in Cantonese and Mandarin. The school - which includes daily mandarin classes from kindergarten to 7th grade - is one of the most recognized educational centers in Canadian Chinese Catholicism.

Marian devotion is deeply rooted in this community: the images of Our Lady of Lourdes, Our Lady of Fatima and the Virgin of China are venerated in the parish. In Edmonton (Alberta), the Chinese Catholic community bears the explicit name of Mary Help of Christians Chinese Catholic Parish This reflects the Marian charism that characterizes Chinese Catholicism in Canada as a whole.

Link to the Rosary

The history of Chinese Catholicism is marked by martyrdom and perseverance, and the Rosary was one of the practices that the missionaries taught the first Chinese communities. In San Francisco Javier de Vancouver, the Rosary prayer in Cantonese and Mandarin is part of the annual devotional calendar, especially during the months of May and October. The title "Mary Helper of Christians," particularly with regard to Chinese Catholicism - linked to Don Bosco and Salesian missions in China - is also honoured in this Canadian context.