The Archdiocese of Vancouver lost several prominent Catholics in 2023, religious and lay faithful, and in the final days of the year said farewell to a well-known pastor. 

Father Francis Xavier Chang, who served the Archdiocese for decades, died Dec. 27 at Rotary Hospice House in Richmond. He was 94. 

Father Chang was born in Ankwo, China, and completed seminary studies in Hong Kong and Montreal. He was ordained on June 4, 1955. 

Father Chang was pastor of St. Theresa’s in Burnaby from 1970 to 2007 and served at Canadian Martyrs in Richmond where he offered Mass in Mandarin.

In 2010 he received the Pro Ecclesia et Pontifice for distinguished service to the Church.

Archbishop J. Michael Miller with Father Francis Chang during the Mass for Conferral of Papal Honours at Holy Rosary Cathedral in 2010. (B.C. Catholic files)

His funeral Mass was celebrated at Holy Rosary Cathedral on Jan. 4 with Archbishop J. Michael Miller as the principal celebrant.

Two weeks earlier, Sister Veronica Tang, SIHM, died at the age of 83. 

Sister Tang was a professed member of the Sisters of the Immaculate Heart of Mary for 60 years and spent the last 40 years in Vancouver, ministering at St. Francis Xavier Parish in Vancouver. 

In 2013, Sister Tang received the Benemerenti Medal for service to the Church. A sister for 30 years, Sister Tang was known in the Chinese community for teaching Catechism and Rite of Christian Initiation for Adults, and for taking Holy Communion to seniors at their homes.

Sister Veronica Tang, SIHM, playing with young children at the Immaculate Heart Early Childhood Education Centre, which she helped establish in 1994. (B.C. Catholic files) 

Another prominent Catholic who found eternal rest in 2023 was Liam O’Loughlin, a board member at Corpus Christi and St. Mark’s Colleges for more than 20 years.

A strong supporter of the Church, he acquired a rare copy of the famous 9th-century Book of Kells, an elaborate book of the Gospels written on calfskin by monks in Ireland and considered that country’s greatest cultural treasure.

The original is at Trinity College Dublin, but in 1989, 1,480 facsimiles were made and sent around the world. One of the rare copies landed at the University of British Columbia. Another was bought by O’Loughlin. 

“It was a once-in-a-lifetime thing,” he told The B.C. Catholic.

Liam O’Loughlin and Archbishop Miller view paperwork on the authenticity and history of the Book of Kells. (Photo courtesy O’Loughlin family)
O’Loughlin received copy #708 and stored it as a prized possession at home. 

UBC used to have its copy on public display but later made it available only by appointment. That’s when O’Loughlin decided it was time for his rare copy of the Book of Kells to be enjoyed by a wider audience. Just after Christmas, he donated it to the Archdiocese of Vancouver.

O’Loughlin, a firm believer that the piece of art should be more widely viewed, gave it to the hub of Catholic operations in Vancouver: the John Paul II Pastoral Centre for display in the lobby. 

“I wanted it to go somewhere where people would have an opportunity to see it and to be able to appreciate exactly what it is. You’re looking back 1,200 years! The mind boggles when you think about it.”

At a Mass for Deceased Clergy and Consecrated Persons on Nov. 8, Archbishop Miller expressed his appreciation for the men and women of the Archdiocese who “each in their own way bore witness to the love and mercy of Jesus Christ and zealously fulfilled their particular apostolate in caring for God’s People.”

Remembered were Archbishop Adam Exner, Father Rufin Mika, and three Oblates of Mary Immaculate: Father Oscar Pauwels, Father Terry Conway, and Father Bill MacDonald.

Two Benedictines from Westminster Abbey were also remembered: well-known artist Father Dunstan Massey and Brother Meinrad Getz.

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