The traditional Roman Rite in the Vancouver area was first granted quasi-parish status, under the name Divine Mercy, by His Grace Archbishop Adam Exner in January 2001, in accord with the wish of Pope John Paul II that bishops support the rightful aspirations of those Catholics attached to the liturgical and disciplinary forms of the Latin tradition. The Priestly Fraternity of Saint Peter was invited to send a priest to provide for the sacramental and pastoral needs of the traditional Catholic community in the archdiocese.

In July 2008, by decree of His Grace Archbishop Raymond Roussin, Holy Family was established as a personal parish dedicated to the Extraordinary Form of the Roman Rite, according to the provisions of the historic motu proprio of His Holiness Pope Benedict XVI, Summorum Pontificum. The parish is located at Holy Family Church, East Vancouver. Fr. Erik Deprey, FSSP, became the first pastor of the new personal parish and served in that capacity until July 2013.

The church that is home to the new Holy Family Parish was founded by Fr. Peter Riffel, OMI, and dedicated in 1948. It was built and maintained by Vancouver’s German-speaking Catholic community, with additional financial support of the German-Catholic Foreign Office. It stands as a testament to the faithfulness of generations of German-speaking Catholics, as well as to the many others who have come to worship at this church in recent years.

The establishment of the new parish of Holy Family represents a renewal for this historic Vancouver church, and brings together different communities to worship God in the traditional liturgy of the Roman Rite.

And the glory that thou hast given me, I have given to them, that they may be one, even as we are one: I in them and thou in me; that they may be perfected in unity, and that the world may know that thou hast sent me, and that thou hast loved them even as thou hast loved me.
(John 17: 22-23)