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Vancouver Archbishop Richard Smith
Nicholas Elbers
February 12, 2026
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There was a quiet but significant change to how World Day of the Sick was observed in Vancouver this year as the Archdiocese of Vancouver hosted the World Day of the Sick Mass in the wake of Catholic Health Association of B.C. winding down its mission.
World Day of the Sick, on Feb. 11 this year, was instituted by St. John Paul II in 1992.
The observance comes as Catholic health care in British Columbia enters a new organizational phase. After 85 years of service, the Catholic Health Association of British Columbia has ceased operations, marking the end of an organization that for decades helped coordinate, support and give voice to the Church’s healing ministry in the province.
CHABC officially closed its offices last year, following a decision by its members and board to dissolve the society and transfer its remaining programs and resources to the archdiocese.
In a statement announcing the decision, the board expressed gratitude to parishes, families and Catholic organizations that supported it since its inception, noting that the archdiocese’s existing infrastructure would allow the work to continue and, in some areas, expand.
Founded in 1940, CHABC began as a forum where leaders in Catholic health care, including acute-care hospitals and long-term-care homes, could meet to share information, address emerging issues and strengthen the Catholic identity of health services across the province. Over the decades, the association provided education, networking, ethical resources and advocacy, helping Catholic health-care providers remain connected in a changing health-care landscape.
Over time, that landscape changed significantly. Hospital mergers, regionalization and the consolidation of many Catholic facilities into Providence Health Care reshaped how Catholic health care is organized and governed in British Columbia. As those changes unfolded, many of the services once coordinated by CHABC increasingly came to be delivered through other structures.
In recent years, CHABC undertook a province-wide survey of stakeholders to assess its ongoing role. The results showed that most of the association’s remaining services were already being carried out within the archdiocese.
Following discussions with Vancouver Archbishop Richard Smith, the board developed a plan to transfer program delivery and assets to the archdiocese.
A version of this story appeared in the February 15, 2026, issue of The Catholic Registerwith the headline "Church’s healing ministry enters new chapter as CHABC ends its mission".
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Photo courtesy Holy Family Parish, Whitby
