As the first lay person and first woman to hold the position of chancellor in the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Vancouver, Barbara Dowding rewrote the history books. Now, the much-lauded Dowding is busy redefining what it means to be retired.
Dowding, who is 75, officially retired as chancellor on July 29, but made clear during a celebratory send-off for her at the John Paul II Pastoral Centre that she’ll continue to be involved in several important projects for a few years to come. In fact, Dowding’s name still appears on her office door on the fourth floor of the centre.
“I have retired as chancellor, but I have a new title, ‘Special Assistant to the Archbishop,’” Dowding said in an interview. “And that means that I am at his beck and call, basically.”
That includes continuing her work on the 2023 Synod of Bishops, chairing the Archdiocese of Vancouver synod committee and serving on the Canadian bishops’ synod delegation. She was one of five members who prepared and signed off on the bishops’ synthesis report sent to Rome in June.
She will also continue as a board member for the CCCB’s Indigenous Reconciliation Fund.
And as of last week she is now also coordinating details of the upcoming ordination of Vancouver vicar-general Father Gary Franken as the new bishop of Saint Paul, Alberta.
“So I’m not really retired,” she agreed. “But those are things that I love. There are lots of opportunities to serve in a capacity that I feel really strongly about, so that makes me very happy.”
Also happy about her decision to continue serving the Church is Archbishop J. Michael Miller. “I’m so delighted that we don’t have to say that we are going to miss you,” he told the pastoral centre gathering. “So, thank you for that continuing gift of yourself to the life of the Church and to the people that are in this Church and far beyond.”
That gift began 29 years ago when Dowding took a position with the Archdiocese’s Vancouver Regional Marriage Tribunal. Since then, she has served as general secretary to the Archdiocesan Synod from 1998-2003, was the lead organizer for local Jubilee Year 2000 celebrations, and was the inaugural director of the archdiocese’s Stewardship Office.
Dowding was appointed vice-chancellor 18 years ago. The administrative, clerical, and organizational position prepared her well for her historic term as chancellor, she said, explaining that it allowed her to be a part of important decision-making bodies.
Although it may have been a natural progression for her to serve as chancellor, the fact that she was both the first lay person and first woman to hold the position in this archdiocese sent an important message, Dowding said.
“It says a great deal about the Church in Vancouver, about the Archbishop in Vancouver,” she said. “It ‘s really important that the role of women is recognized at that level. Even when I was named vice-chancellor by Archbishop [Raymond] Roussin in 2004, that was a major step then.
“I think that those seeds of valuing my role, as a woman, in the important parts of our Church going forward, were sown. And they have grown from there. And I think they grew because of how I handled each role as it came along.”
Dowding, who is a past national president of the Catholic Women’s League of Canada, said it is not always easy to find qualified women for important Church positions. Thankfully, “we have lots of women working in leadership roles in our diocese.”
More importantly, she said, the decision to hire “has got to be because that woman can do that job,” she said.
Dowding is clearly one woman who can indeed “do that job,” judging from remarks made by Archbishop Miller during Dowding’s “retirement” gathering. In response to his request for pastoral centre workers’ impressions of Dowding’s talents and contributions, accolades described her as “Dedicated and committed,” “a woman of dignity and poise,” “gentle and tough,” “faith-filled, a role model and promoter of women – a feminist, I think, in the best sense of the word,” “the supreme events planner,” and “the most committed woman or person in the history of the archdiocese.”
Father Joseph Le, the current Judicial Vicar and a past chancellor, has replaced Dowding in that position. Sister John Frances LaFever, a member of the Franciscan Sisters of the Eucharist, has been appointed Vice chancellor.
Dowding said she will continue to collaborate with Archbishop Miller for the next few years and is likely to retire when his three-year extension as Archbishop ends in two years. “It would seem natural to me to be able to assist my Archbishop until he leaves,” she said. “He’s so good to work for and work with.”
Dowding said she and her husband of 53 years, Alan, are enjoying the sunshine and scenery in their new, downsized home in Crescent Beach, and are also relishing the opportunity to spend more time with their three sons and their families, including six grandchildren.
She said she is optimistic about the future of the Church in Vancouver. “I think having gone through this time of the synod, the last several months with the archdiocese, and having seen how parishes have embraced the whole synodal model of listening and talking with one another … it was clear to me that the Church is alive and well in Vancouver,” Dowding said.
“The overall sentiment that came in was one of wanting the Church to be better, wanting the Church to be maybe more visible. But there was nothing negative or bad, it was how can we be better. And it was, to me, very comforting to know that, yes, we have things to do, but in general, people in our parishes, they love their Church, and so that, for me, was super-hopeful.”
