VANCOUVER—Hundreds filed into Holy Rosary Cathedral to honour the former Archbishop of Vancouver.

Archbishop Raymond Roussin, SM, who died April 24, was praised for his legacy during a Memorial Mass in Vancouver May 8. It was six days after his funeral Mass in Winnipeg.

“I believe he was a saint,” said Philip Guindon, a Knight of Columbus, after Mass. “I wouldn’t be surprised to see his cause for canonization being pushed at some point.”

Guindon applauded the prelate’s peaceful demeanour and his efforts to reach out to native people and prison inmates during his time in Vancouver from 2004-2009.

Kit Mykyte of St. Andrew’s Parish called the late prelate “a very humble, holy man.”

She first met Bishop Ray, as he liked to be called, at a parish barbeque. “This man came around the corner in a pair of shorts and sandals and walked in very nondescript. I said, ‘Hello, my name is Kit.’ He said, ‘I’m Archbishop Roussin.'”

She praised his support of the Catholic Health Association and his honest, open struggle with depression. “That was huge for not only Catholics, but all people in B.C. suffering from depression. A lot of people spoke about what a brave and courageous man he was.”

Pamela Ho, a member of the Serra Club, said many friends of other faiths had been encouraged to see a prominent figure open up about mental illness. “They were really touched by how he allowed himself to be vulnerable.”

Anthony De Souza of Immaculate Conception Parish in Delta recalled another of the late archbishop’s achievements: winning a battle against communications giant Telus.

“He stood up and they reversed their position on downloading pornography,” after he told Catholics to boycott the company in 2007, De Souza said. “We need shepherds like him: bold, brave, and our church is in good hands.”

Ho said Bishop Ray was a particularly approachable shepherd. “He would take walks in the neighbourhood, and he would feel so comfortable that he would knock on my mother’s door, go in, sit down, and have tea, on several occasions.”

Guindon enjoyed conversing with Bishop Ray in French. “Around Christmastime we were talking in the sacristy. I said to him: ‘Merry Christmas, Happy New Year!’ And he came back at me and said: ‘And paradise at the end of your days!’ It’s an old French expression. I love that.”

Archbishop J. Michael Miller, CSB, who succeeded Bishop Ray after the latter retired in 2009, celebrated the memorial Mass. He pointed out other challenges the late bishop faced: closing down the Diocese of Gravelbourg, Sask., pulling the Diocese of Victoria out of financial ruin, and guiding the Archdiocese of Vancouver while coping with mental illness and Parkinson’s disease.

“The Lord asked a great deal of Bishop Ray, an invitation mysteriously extended only to those closest to God’s heart.”