VANCOUVER (CCN) — When Father Dan Gurnick thinks about St. Francis of Assisi, he doesn’t think of birds, flowers, or sentimental images of the beloved saint.
He begins with Christ.
“Francis was very Christ-centred,” said Father Gurnick, a Franciscan friar and pastor of St. Joseph the Worker Parish in Richmond. After St. Francis’ conversion, he saw “the crucified Christ in lepers,” and even in creation. “It’s more than just seeing trees, it’s seeing Christ in the trees,” Father Gurnick told The B.C. Catholic.
That vision is now shaping local observances of the Jubilee Year dedicated to St. Francis of Assisi, proclaimed by Pope Leo XIV to mark the 800th anniversary of the saint’s death.
The jubilee year runs from Jan. 10, 2026, to Jan. 10, 2027, and offers the faithful the opportunity to obtain a plenary indulgence by making a pilgrimage to churches dedicated to St. Francis or served by Franciscan communities. The usual conditions apply: sacramental confession, Communion, prayer for the Pope’s intentions, and freedom from attachment to sin. The elderly, sick, and those unable to travel may participate spiritually by offering their prayers and sufferings.
In the Archdiocese of Vancouver, Archbishop Richard Smith has highlighted three parishes for coordinated observances: St. Francis of Assisi in East Vancouver, which bears the saint’s name, and two parishes served by Franciscan friars — St. Joseph the Worker in Richmond and Immaculate Conception in Vancouver.
In a pastoral letter, Archbishop Smith called the jubilee “a time of grace” and reminded the Church that renewal begins with conversion to Christ.
“Every renewal begins with a renewed encounter with Jesus Christ,” he wrote. “A pilgrimage is a meaningful act of faith. It is a step away from routine and an intentional journey toward the Lord.”
The Archbishop said the jubilee is especially timely as the Archdiocese enters “our own time of renewal,” including in parishes and schools, infrastructure stewardship, clergy support, and the celebration of the liturgy.
Pope Leo XIV has framed the year as a response to a divided world. In a letter to Franciscan leaders, he said St. Francis continues to speak “in this era, marked by so many seemingly endless wars, by internal and social divisions that create distrust and fear,” because his life points to “the authentic source of peace.”
The Pope added that Francis reminds the Church that “peace with God, peace among people, and peace with creation are inseparable dimensions of a single call to universal reconciliation.”
For the three local parishes, that global call is taking local form.
At St. Joseph the Worker in Richmond, Father Gurnick said the parish and friars would have marked the 800th anniversary even without the papal proclamation, but the jubilee has given the year a clearer focus.
“Of course we as friars were going to celebrate the 800th anniversary,” he said, “but now we intentionally have scheduled a few more things.”
“The theme really gave us that focus for this particular year,” Father Gurnick said.
The parish has been offering Faith and Food suppers, a meal combined with presentations and table conversation. This year the focus has been Franciscan spirituality, including hospitality, the “Easter joy of St. Francis,” and theological themes such as the primacy of Christ.
One upcoming presentation by another friar will explore “from community life to fraternal life in community,” a theme Father Gurnick said reflects the Franciscan charism of fraternity.
The parish is also organizing small-group pilgrimages, limited by van capacity, to other Franciscan-linked parishes and religious communities, including the Poor Clares and Westminster Abbey in Mission.
Father Gurnick said Franciscan spirituality is not separate from Catholic spirituality. It simply highlights particular aspects: Christ, creation, fraternity, simplicity, and service. Francis’ love of creation, he said, went far beyond appreciation of nature. After his conversion, Francis saw creation in relation to Christ.
“When he looks at a tree, he thinks of the cross of Christ,” Father Gurnick said. “He could see the personality of God coming through creation.”
That vision is expressed in the Canticle of the Creatures, composed by Francis near the end of his life while he was suffering and nearly blind. Father Gurnick said the canticle invites “brother sun, sister moon, brother fire, sister water” to praise God, not because creation is God, but because it reveals God and leads the faithful to praise him.
The jubilee, he added, also invites the parish to reflect on hospitality, especially toward those on the margins or returning to the Church.
“How do we be more hospitable as Church?” he asked. “How do we make sure that maybe someone who’s just coming back to the Church feels at home and at ease?”
At St. Francis of Assisi in East Vancouver, the jubilee coincides with major local anniversaries: the 800th anniversary of the death of its patron, the 90th anniversary of the parish’s founding in 1936, and 80 years of Catholic education at St. Francis of Assisi Elementary.
Father Juan Ignacio Lucca, pastor of St. Francis of Assisi, said the parish hopes the year will be “intentionally celebrated in our Archdiocese with joy and opportunities for learning.”
In written material prepared for the year, Father Lucca wrote that the parish “celebrates with joy the 800th anniversary of the death of our patron, his heavenly birthday.” The church, built brick by brick by Italian immigrants, has stood in East Vancouver for nearly a century “as a sign of faith and hope, pax et bonum” (peace and good).
“Whether in times of sorrow or joy, may St. Francis of Assisi continue to stand as a beacon of enduring faith and hope in our neighbourhood,” he said.
This year the Feast of St. Francis of Assisi falls on a Sunday, so the parish plans to celebrate its historic milestones the day before, with events at the parish and in its gardens.
“We especially invite all alumni to come home and support our hidden gem,” Father Lucca wrote, noting that after 80 years the school “finally got a gym.”
The jubilee is also tied to preservation and renewal. Recent and ongoing projects at St. Francis include replacing the original drainage system around the historic church, installing new boilers, replacing the elevator lift, completing seismic upgrades to the original school building, replacing school flooring, and building the new gym.
A professional facilities assessment determined the parish will require an estimated $1.5 million over the next five years to meet infrastructure needs, safety standards, and building code requirements. A significant portion, $600,000, is earmarked for restoration of the southeast tower, which suffered structural damage from years of water seepage.
The parish is asking supporters to help continue “the dream and vision of the families who built this parish before us,” Father Lucca said.
“They established a legacy that has blessed generations,” he wrote. “Now it is our opportunity to give back, to preserve a sanctuary of peace, education, refuge, and prayer for those who seek it.”
Father Lucca pointed to the church’s two towers and said in ecclesial symbolism they represent Christ’s divinity and humanity. “The Church is human and divine.”
At Immaculate Conception in Dunbar, Father Paul Smith, OFM, views the jubilee through the lens of smallness, mercy, and faith formation.
Father Smith described his parish as a modest Franciscan presence in a changing, affluent neighbourhood whose very survival he finds “miraculous.”
“We really are a chapel and not a parish,” he said. “We can’t do everything. So then we have to say: what can we do?”
For Father Smith, the answer is to be a simple Franciscan place of mercy and encounter.
“I would think about ourselves … as the little place of mercy,” he said.
The church’s simplicity is part of its gift. It has no stained-glass grandeur, yet people often remark that “as soon as you come in here, you want to pray. And that’s our drawing card.”
Father Smith hopes to mark the jubilee with events connected to both St. Francis and St. Clare, whose witness he sees as inseparable.
“You can’t think of Francis or Clare” apart from each other, he said, noting that Clare is less well known but essential to the Franciscan story as one of the first and most important people to receive his vision and live it in a distinct way.
He also hopes to host roundtable conversations on Francis as a peacemaker, a theme that, like Pope Leo, he considers urgently relevant today. The jubilee, he added, connects directly to evangelization, especially among families searching for faith in an increasingly secular culture.
“People are looking for another narrative,” he said.
The parish welcomed 15 new Christians at Easter, many of them “brand new Christians” from Asian backgrounds. “They’re searching, and it’s genuine,” Father Smith said. He recalled one father telling him that his grandmother in China could have been killed for keeping a Bible in the house. Such stories, he believes, illustrate why small, intentional parish spaces matter.
“We needed to deepen our faith and to grow in faith and build community of faith,” he said.
The three parishes began coordinating after Archbishop Smith encouraged them to discuss their observances and publicize pilgrimage opportunities. Father Gurnick recalled that the Archbishop suggested the pastors “get together and discuss what we’re going to do and get ideas from each other.” The three met to prepare a joint response.
The result is a local Franciscan circuit inviting Catholics across the Archdiocese to make pilgrimages, receive the sacraments, pray, and seek renewal through the indulgence attached to the jubilee year.
Though quieter than the universal Jubilee Year that preceded it, the Special Year of St. Francis is being treated in Vancouver as a serious spiritual opportunity.
For Archbishop Smith, the year is a call to “seek peace in your homes and communities, to serve those in need with compassion, and to live with simplicity and trust in God’s providence.”
As Father Gurnick recalled from the saint’s final words to his brothers: “The Lord has taught me what I am to do. May the Lord teach you what you are to do.”
With files from EWTN News.
St. Francis of Assisi, East Vancouver
The parish is marking three anniversaries during the jubilee year: the 800th anniversary of St. Francis’ death, the 90th anniversary of the parish’s founding in 1936, and 80 years of Catholic education at St. Francis of Assisi Elementary School.
Plans include:
• Oct. 3 parish celebration connected to the Feast of St. Francis, with events at the parish and in its gardens
• Invitations for alumni to reconnect with the parish and school
• Ongoing restoration and preservation work, including repairs to the southeast tower
• Fundraising efforts: 90-year commemorative program for businesses, brick campaign plaques, “$90 for 90 Years” giving campaign, and a feast day silent auction
Father Juan Ignacio Lucca said the parish hopes the year will be “intentionally celebrated in our Archdiocese with joy and opportunities for learning.”
St. Joseph the Worker Parish, Richmond
The Franciscan-run parish is using the jubilee year to deepen its focus on Franciscan spirituality, formation, fraternity, hospitality, and pilgrimage.
Key plans include:
• Faith and Food suppers focused on Franciscan spirituality
• Presentations on themes including hospitality, the “Easter joy of St. Francis,” and the primacy of Christ
• A May 27 presentation on “from community life to fraternal life in community”
• Small-group pilgrimages (van capacity) to Franciscan-linked parishes and other religious sites
• Parish observances around the Feast of St. Francis, including a simplified Transitus, the Franciscan prayer service commemorating the saint’s death on Oct. 3, followed by a reception
Father Dan Gurnick said the jubilee has given the parish a focus “for this particular year.”
Immaculate Conception Parish, Dunbar
Under its Franciscan pastor, the parish is approaching the jubilee through prayer, simplicity, mercy, faith formation, and the connection between St. Francis and St. Clare.
• Events connected to both St. Francis and St. Clare
• Possible roundtable conversations on Francis as a peacemaker
• Development of parish spaces for faith formation and conversation
• Emphasis on the parish as a small, prayerful “little place of mercy and welcome”
• Continued attention to evangelization, especially among families and seekers
Father Paul Smith said he hopes the parish can be “the little place of mercy.”
