Catholic Vancouver September 28, 2022
Vancouver College looks toward the next 100 years
By Terry O'Neill
As they celebrated Vancouver College’s 100th anniversary over the last weekend of September, school representatives not only looked back on a century of accomplishment since its founding in 1922, but also looked forward to the important role that graduates of the Catholic boys’ school will play in the world.
“Vancouver College is full of boys – 1,083 of them, in fact – striving to be the best in their areas of passion, yes, but more inspiringly, they lift each other up on a daily basis,” Principal Daryl Weaver said during a Sept. 24 ceremony that closed a day of celebratory activities.
“I see them moving beyond self-development to serving each other, our school, our greater community, and even the world beyond our borders in our brother communities around the world. We are proud of their excellence as servant leaders and men of character.”
The school’s history reaches back to 1906 when the rector of Holy Rosary Cathedral began efforts to enlist the services of the Christian Brothers of Ireland to open a school in Vancouver.
“Hearing nothing positive from across the Atlantic, his spirits and those of others supporting his endeavour were not discouraged,” the school states on its centennial webpage. “In 1921, Archbishop Timothy Casey made another plea. When they asked this time, they received, fulfilling the goals of many priests and noble citizens of Vancouver, when Brothers Lannon, Reid, Murtagh, and Keane arrived in the city to set things in motion.”
The school opened on Sept. 5, 1922, when the brothers welcomed 91 students to Vancouver College’s initial facility at Rosary Hall, located at 650 Richards Street, just south of Holy Rosary Cathedral. Vancouver College moved to its Shaughnessy Heights campus in 1925. The school enrols students from kindergarten to Grade 12.
Dave Hardy, who served as principal from 2003 to 2009 and then as president from 2012 to 2014, travelled from Saskatchewan to attend the celebration.
“I have never been in another school as special as Vancouver College,” Hardy said in a speech. “Trust me, Vancouver College is a special place. I have reflected often on what makes Vancouver College so special, and I always come back to one simple answer: people care.”
Hardy also pointed to the school’s motto, “Semper Fidelis” (always faithful), as a “guiding light and a reminder to students, alumni, past and present faculty and staff to always be faithful to God, our country, our school, our family, and to each other.”
In her speech, Michelle Rupp, the school’s interim president and a mother of two VC graduates, also embraced the school’s Catholic mission.
“On this milestone occasion of Vancouver College’s 100th birthday,” Rupp said, “my prayer for all of us gathered here today – each of us community members and leaders who have contributed to the school in our own important way – is that we model our values and faith with humility, compassion and gratitude in all that we do, and may God’s hand continue to guide us with wisdom and grace, as we look forward to the century ahead.”
The centennial celebrations teed off Sept. 17 with a sold-out alumni golf tournament and continued the following week with the school’s unveiling of a photo-filled VC100 timeline wall and of an online “100 Stories” feature.
Among the stories told was one outlining the late 1960s-to-early-1970s phenomenon of “the Colleyflowers” – girls from Little Flower Academy who, due to financial problems at LFA, took classes at VC.
The festivities continued on Sept. 23 with a special commencement celebration for its honorary graduates. A Hall of Honour inductions ceremony followed.
The school staged an alumni breakfast on Sept. 24, followed by the homecoming football game, which saw the VC Fighting Irish remain undefeated by beating Saanish’s Mount Douglas Rams 35-0.
After the game, volunteers transformed the school’s courtyard into an outdoor festival featuring pinatas, games, food, face painting, and a cake walk. A closing ceremony featured speeches by Weaver, Hardy, Rupp, and others (including Father Richard Conlin, a VC graduate), followed by a spectacular fireworks display.
“Throughout the 2022-23 school year, we invite students, families, alumni, and friends to join us for liturgies, events, and celebrations to reminisce and commemorate our school’s rich history,” said Ronith Cogswell, VC’s director of advancement and co-chair of the centenary planning committee.
“Vancouver College has been blessed, and we have much to be grateful for. As we celebrate our centenary, we honour and learn from our past, and together we look to the future with hope and peace for strength of spirit and perpetual growth in our faith and learning community.”
B.C. Catholic contributor Terry O’Neill graduated from Vancouver College in 1969.