In today’s rapidly changing, post-Christendom world, pastoral decision-making has become increasingly complex. For priests beginning the work of parish renewal, that challenge is magnified.
That’s why the data Archbishop Miller has shared with pastors is so crucial. At sessions held in spring 2024, he provided insights to help priests make informed decisions about their communities and allocating parish time and resources.
The numbers tell a mixed story.
- Mass attendance in the Archdiocese of Vancouver is both rising and falling: While the number of people in the pews is climbing back toward pre-COVID levels, only 17 per cent of Catholics attended Mass weekly in 2023—down from 19 per cent in 2019.
- Catholic population stability: The percentage of Catholics in Vancouver remains steady at 12 per cent of the total population, just shy of 500,000 people.
- Projections for growth in diocesan vocations show a short-term increase, but long-term decline. The number of active diocesan priests is expected to rise slightly from 55 to 58 by 2029 but then decline over the following decade due to retirements and aging clergy.
- Permanent diaconate growth: The permanent diaconate is thriving, with 40 active permanent deacons projected by 2034.
- The number of marriages declined in the past decade, from 952 in 2002 to 680 (140 of them taking place outside the Archdiocese of Vancouver.)
- The number of PREP students had dropped from over 8,000 to just under 5,000.
- Confirmations have been on the decline, while baptisms and First Communions are rising again since 2020.
- Catholic school enrolment has been trending up, although the percentage of students who are Catholic has dropped slightly.
From a national perspective, a recent Cardus study gives further context, highlighting concerning trends in belief and practice across Canada that can help pastors understand religious convictions within their own flock.
One striking statistic: Nearly 70 per cent of Canadian Catholics believe the Eucharist is only a symbol, contradicting the Church’s teaching on the Real Presence. Archbishop Miller pointed to findings like these as critical for shaping catechesis. He also refers to these sorts of trends as a mixed bag.
Vancouver’s priest-to-laity ratio, for example, is better than in many North American dioceses. Other numbers, however, paint a more troubling picture.
“Not even 20 per cent—one in five—of Catholics regularly practise their faith by living a sacramental life,” the Archbishop said.
“Where are they?” he asked. “We don’t often think of them as parishioners, but they are. They are Catholics living within our parish boundaries.”
It’s a reality the priests already know well, he said. “I know it in my own family, and I’m sure I’m not alone,” he said.
“You know these statistics of declining engagement, because I’ve heard you say, over and over, that you experience the pain of this loss of practice in your families and among your friends.”
Having recently returned from the Synod on Synodality in Rome, the Archbishop took the opportunity to introduce priests to the synodal approach, saying the discussion they were having “mirrors the way discussions proceeded at the Synod of Bishops last October,” he said.
Synodality, he said, means exploring concrete means of “walking together” as a Church, with a new way of discerning and collaborating becoming a normal part of parish and diocesan life.
Then came his challenge: “If you’re like me, you know that this situation requires urgent responses.” Before those responses can take place, an acknowledgement is necessary, he said: “However painful it may be, that we need to change.”
Change means embracing Msgr. James Shea’s concept of shifting from “Christendom to Apostolic Mission”—a prescription for evangelizing a post-Christian culture.
“Our greatest enemy,” the Archbishop warned, “is the complacent attitude that says, ‘We have always done it this way.’”
He then unveiled 12 key principles for the future of the Church in Vancouver:
- Recognize that Christendom is no longer the dominant cultural influence in the Archdiocese of Vancouver.
- Confront the hard truths about our reality with courage, while maintaining unwavering hope in Christ.
- Adopt an apostolic mindset, confident in the truth of the Gospel and the transforming power of the Holy Spirit.
- Embrace a synodal approach to discernment, seeking guidance from the Holy Spirit.
- Break the cycle of repeating the past while expecting different results.
- Align all institutions—families, parishes, schools, health care, and outreach—with the mission of evangelization.
- Recognize the missionary role of the family and equip families for evangelization.
- Reform priestly, religious, and lay formation to meet the needs of this new apostolic age.
- Embrace the co-responsibility of clergy and laity in the Church’s mission.
- Move beyond a narrow, parochial mindset and collaborate in ways never seen before in Vancouver.
- Align budgets and resources with the Church’s mission, ensuring financial priorities reflect evangelization efforts.
- Prepare for difficult decisions ahead—decisions that will require pruning, sacrifice, courage, and generosity.
Archbishop Miller’s message to his priests was clear: Change is not optional, and neither is shifting from an age of Christendom to a time of Apostolic Mission demands boldness, adaptability, and a willingness to sacrifice for the sake of evangelization.
With synodality, evangelization, and renewal as guiding principles, Vancouver’s parishes and clergy are being called to step into a new era of mission—one that rejects the status quo and embraces the Great Commission.
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