Bishop's Greeting
Welcome to the Diocese of Whitehorse.
Our cathedral parish and twenty-two other parishes and missions in northern British Columbia and the Yukon live the life of Christ in the Roman Catholic tradition.
The Northern Light of Christ shines to illumine with faith the hearts of all in our small Catholic communities. We invite you to come and enjoy the wonders of God's creation in the Land of the Midnight Sun.
Bishop Gary M. Gordon
Read my Pastoral Christmas Letter for 2011
Dear Brothers and Sisters in Christ
Advent 2011 begins the new Church year, and this Advent the Church in our Country will implement the liturgical norms of the third “typical edition” of the Roman Missal, as well as the revised Liturgical Calendar for Dioceses of Canada. On the first Sunday of Advent November 27, English-speaking Roman Catholics in Canada and many other countries will celebrate the Liturgy of the Holy Eucharist using the revised translation.
For all the details and resources to prepare and understand this wonderful gift for the Church please see the web-site www.romanmissal.ca
National Post story published on November 28, 2010 featuring Bishop Gary and Archbishop Martin Currie
Read all about it
Bishop Gary Gordon wrote a letter to the Prime Minister on the subject of cuts to important funding
Read the Bishop's Letter to the Prime Minister on the issue of Prison Funding
excerpt: "I am most concerned that you and the government of Canada, in this time of financial cuts to important services, are prepared to significantly increase investment in the building of new prisons..."
Mary Our Morning Star Retreat
With generous donations from all over, the dream of a retreat house in
The Yukon is taking shape.
To learn more about how you might be able to participate in this great
project, please click here.
Latest Blog Updates
- The gift of family - January 24th, 2012 The Feast of the Baptism of Jesus, January 9, is a wonderful time to rejoice in the gift of family.
- The joys of Christmas! - December 29th, 2011 The birth of Jesus our Saviour, is truly the light of the nations
- Pastoral Christmas Letter 2011 - December 24th, 2011 Bishop Gary's Christmas Letter
- Like Mary and Joseph - December 20th, 2011 Like Mary and Joseph on the road from Nazareth to Bethlehem that first Christmas...
- Third Sunday of Advent - December 12th, 2011 Sliding into Christmas, there is nothing more joyful on Rejoice Sunday than a little sledding...
- -44 degrees Celsius in Mayo, Yukon on November 20th, coldest place on earth - November 29th, 2011 With the temperature dropping steadily, I head 400 kilometres North on the Klondike Highway.
- A peek from my 1800 km trip - November 9th, 2011 Iskut, in northwestern British Columbia, is a wonderful Taltahn First Nation community with a lovely church, Our Lady of Fatima, in the Diocese of Whitehorse.
- New Edition of Roman Missal taking off in Yukon diocese - October 31st, 2011 The Whitehorse Diocesan Pastoral staff gathered October 28 for an implementation workshop on the Third Edition of the Roman Missal
- Third newsletter published - September 21st, 2011 Our third newsletter is now out, get your copy electronically.
Map of the Diocese
click on the map for a larger version.
The diocese of Whitehorse is vast! It comprises the top northern quarter of the province of British Columbia and the entire Yukon Territory. In this 723,515 square-kilometer area, the total population is approximately 40,000.
Our Catholic population is 7,500, which is served in 23 parishes and missions. Presently four priests, six religious sisters, one Bishop and some very dedicated lay faithful keep the light of Catholic faith shining in our little mission churches.
The seat of the diocese is Whitehorse, the capital city of Yukon Territory. Sacred Heart Cathedral, Our Lady of Victory Parish, and three Roman Catholic schools serve the Whitehorse area.
The vastness of the diocese is matched by the grandeur and beauty of God's creation. The St. Elias mountains with the highest peaks in Canada and massive glaciers, are something to behold. The diocese is geographically situated in the great river watersheds of both the Arctic and Pacific oceans. The Yukon, Liard, Dease, Fort Nelson, Stikine, Nass and Skeena rivers and their tributaries are the historical highways of this land.
The all-season Alaska, Klondike, and Cassiar Highways connect the diocesan missions year round; and provide connections to our neighboring dioceses of Prince George (BC), Mackenzie-Fort Smith (NWT), Grouard-McLennan (Alberta), Anchorage, Juneau and Fairbanks (Alaska). Air travel connects the people up here nationally and internationally.
To live up here and travel to the small Catholic communities is to experience why "God so loved the World that He gave His only Son" Jn.3:16
It is something beautiful!