Archdiocese of Vancouver consecrated to Mary with dioceses across Canada, U.S.

As Canada faces lockdowns, economic strife, and threats from a novel virus that has infected more than 53,000 Canadians, Vancouver Archbishop J. Michael Miller, CSB, consecrated the archdiocese to Mary, Mother of the Church.

The consecration took place in union with bishops across Canada and the U.S. who consecrated their dioceses to Mary on May 1, uniting in prayer for her protection from the pandemic.

The Vancouver consecration took place following noon Mass at Holy Rosary Cathedral and was viewed online by at least 1,700 people.

“Our current situation of pandemic can at times seem dark and discouraging, but we are consoled by knowing that beside us is Mary, who dries our tears and encourages us under the mantle of her protection,” Archbishop Miller said in his homily.

When Jesus was dying on the Cross, Mary his mother stood near him out of faithfulness and love, the archbishop said. In response, Jesus “enlarged” her motherhood to encompass the whole Church.

“Because he did not want us to journey through life unaccompanied, he left us his mother to be our mother as well,” he said.

After Mass, Archbishop Miller prayed the fifth decade of the Rosary’s Sorrowful Mysteries and recited the prayer consecrating the archdiocese to Mary. He also prayed for the sick, the dying, for health-care workers, for those who care for them.

This was the second time the archdiocese has been consecrated to Mary in recent years. In 2017, the 150th anniversary of Confederation, hundreds of Catholics filled the cathedral to seek her intercession and guidance for Canada.

At the time, Archbishop Miller said he (along with bishops in dioceses across Canada) were seeking Mary’s guidance and prayers for a country “so richly blessed but also struggling to remain faithful to its highest values which are grounded in the Gospel and the moral conscience of humankind.”

Canada was first consecrated to Mary at a National Marian Congress in Ottawa in 1947, then again at the National Shrine of Our Lady of the Cape near Trois-Rivieres, Que., in 1954.

Bishops across Canada and the U.S. consecrated their dioceses to Mary Friday, uniting in prayer for her protection from the pandemic.

“May is the month dedicated in a special way to the Mother of Christ,” explained Winnipeg Archbishop Richard Gagnon, president of the Canadian Conference of Catholic Bishops.

“We believe that she is, in a spiritual but real sense, our mother too.”

Pope Francis has also asked Catholics around the world to look to Mary for spiritual help during the month of May, urging the praying of the Rosary.

At press time, 3,223 COVID-19 deaths were confirmed in Canada.

View the Mass and consecration here. Read the consecration prayer here.