Throwback Thursday: Holy Rosary Cathedral edition

Today, Oct. 3, is celebrated in the Archdiocese of Vancouver as a feast day for the occasion of the dedication of Holy Rosary Cathedral.

The cathedral had humble beginnings as a small church built for 69 Catholic families in the Vancouver area in 1886. A few years later, that small structure was expanded, and given a bell tower.

By 1898, the growing community realized it needed a larger, more permanent structure and laid the corner stone for what is now Holy Rosary Cathedral in 1899. Back then, it was still called  the Church of Our Lady of the Holy Rosary. The larger church opened Dec. 8, 1900.

That church was declared a cathedral in 1916 (and has undergone many renovations since).

Holy Rosary Cathedral was consecrated on its 50th anniversary, Oct. 3, 1953 by Archbishop William Mark Duke. On that same day, Archbishop Duke celebrated 25 years since his ordination as a bishop.