Feast of Our Lady of the Rosary

Today is the Feast of Our Lady of the Rosary, who is the principal patron of the Archdiocese of Vancouver and for whom Holy Rosary Cathedral is named.

The feast, formerly known as Our Lady of Victory, has been celebrated for centuries on Oct. 7. Tradition holds that St. Dominic (d. 1221) devised the rosary as we know it after being moved by a vision of our Blessed Mother.

Holy Rosary Cathedral parish began in 1885 when the Right Reverend Louis d’Herbomez, OMI, vicar apostolic of the mainland of British Columbia, appointed Father Patrick Fay as the first pastor. The cornerstone of the present church was laid in 1899 and the church doors were officially opened on the Feast of the Immaculate Conception, Dec. 8, 1900.

In 1916, under Archbishop Timothy Casey, D.D., the Church of Our Lady of the Holy Rosary was declared a cathedral. Read more about the cathedral's history on its website.