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Healing and Reconciliation

A Message from Archbishop Miller

Dear Brothers and Sisters in Christ,

I write to you today to invite you to join me in contributing generously to the September 10th special collection for Healing and Reconciliation. This collection helps to fulfill the commitment our local Church has made to seek a new path with our Indigenous brothers and sisters.

The funds raised provide grants for local projects developed and administered by Indigenous peoples. This initiative brings healing and reconciliation to communities and families, promotes culture and language revitalization, provides opportunities for education and community building, and facilitates dialogue.

The Archdiocese of Vancouver has committed $2.5 million to the Indigenous Reconciliation Fund (IRF), a Canada-wide Catholic initiative, over a five-year period that began in 2021. In 2022, we formed a grant committee to review project applications from local First Nations and Indigenous groups before recommending them to the IRF.  To date, your donations have sponsored eight projects, with many more to come.

Your support this year will allow us to continue sowing seeds of understanding and hope, thereby creating a future where reconciliation flourishes and the wounds of the past are gently healed.  On September 10, please give generously to the Healing and Reconciliation collection and be part of this transformative journey.

With the assurance of my prayers for you and your families, I remain

Sincerely yours in Christ,

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+ J. Michael Miller, CSB 
Archbishop of Vancouver 

Transformative Projects You Sponsored in 2023

Education and Community

  • Republishing of the book St. Mary’s, the Legacy of an Indian Residential School and distribution to schools in Greater Vancouver
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  • Historical research at St. Mary’s Residential School in Mission, BC, committed to healing, closure, and Indigenous data sovereignty

    • Healing and Reconciliation

  • New programming at the Dr. Peter Centre in Vancouver, which ensures that Indigenous people with HIV and other complex health needs are supported with cultural wellness practices
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  • Distribution of the documentary The Cost of Silence to 35 Indigenous communities which empowers survivors of sexual abuse to share their story and seek healing
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  • Building of a new Coast Salish Healing Pole near a former residential school that contributes to the hope of the Sts’ailes people in the Fraser Valley

    • Culture and Language

  • Translation services, new regalia, and language classes at St. Paul’s Squamish Nation Church in North Vancouver
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  • Restoration of cultural practices, identity, and dignity ceremony at a former residential school on the Sunshine Coast
    • Donate Today and Support Healing and Reconciliation
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