About Us

On this page, you will find information about: Our History and Our Patron Saint

…our History

In 1933, on the First Sunday of Advent, an overflow crowd stood outside a cabin at the Lily Auto Court on Kingsway in Burnaby. Inside, Fr. Francis Sutherland, an Oblate priest from New Westminster, celebrated the first Mass of our new parish of Saint Francis de Sales.

A site on Kingsway was quickly found for a new church and construction was soon underway, with many of the parishioners volunteering their time and labour. Money was scarce in 1934. The first rectory was a small room, with a cookstove, behind the Altar. Upstairs there was a sleeping room and this served as living quarters for the priest.

In 1951, a larger church with a school was needed to serve the expanding community. Father Peter McGuire was appointed Pastor and devoted himself to this work.

A parish school with attached auditorium (to be used for Sunday Masses) was completed on the present Balmoral site in 1954. The Sisters of St. Joseph, who lived at St. Patrick’s Convent on 12th in Vancouver, came to teach at the school. They continued in this service until the new school was built in 1967.

In 1958 with the untimely death of Father McGuire in June, Father John Edward Brown was appointed pastor and he took up the completion of a new church, from the foundations laid by his predecessor.

Our present church was blessed on November 29th, 1959. Shortly after the start of the new term in October 1967, the school and auditorium were burned to the ground on a Saturday night and parishioners arriving for Mass on Sunday morning were stunned at the sight of the gray smoldering ruins! The new (present) school was completed in time for the start of the school year in 1968

In 1993 Our new school addition was constructed in just two months, ready for the new school term. For the first time we have our kindergarten and school all under one roof.

…our Patron Saint

Saint Francis de Sales, born in the late 1500’s, was Bishop of Geneva. He was born to a noble family and his father wanted him to become a lawyer. He had much potential to be great in the professional world. He was a very prayerful young man though, and while at study he felt a strong desire to be a priest. His school mates would mock him for his piety and once he was set upon by three young men. He drew his sword and fended off the attackers, sending them running. He was a virile and vigorous man.

After much struggle with his father’s will, he managed to become a priest. When he was ordained, he was filled with a zeal to love people. This was the way he set about winning people for Christ. He was made Provost of Geneva, a place hostile to Catholics and primarly Calvinist. Over the course of several years, he dealt with starvation, poverty, cold and the harshness of the residents of his diocese, but was relentless in approaching people to minister to them despite their mistreatment of him. Eventually he broke through their resistance by the numerous letters he sent to people explaining the faith. He is the patron Saint of writers and journalists.

Over the course of his life, he made the time to correspond to a very large number of people, offering them spriritual direction. One in particular that he met and directed in the spiritual life was St. Jane Frances de Chantal with whom he helped found the Sisters of the Vistation.

St. Francis was known for his winning personality and won over many people with his friendly, kind and charming ways and great intelligence. Working tirelessly writing letters, ministering to his flock and writing books, he was known to spend endless hours in the confessional, anxious to minister to his people. His most well known spiritual book is The Introduction to the Devout Life. He was a close friend of St. Vincent de Paul.

Twenty years after being made Bishop of Geneva at the age 55 he died suddenly and it is said by some that he may have worked himself to death with the tremendous pace that he kept, constantly ministering out of love for the people of God. Of course, it was the infinite wisdom and love of God that called him to Heaven where he now listens eagerly to our prayers and assists us with his great kindness, intelect and love.

Let us ask him always to fill our hearts with the immense love for God that he came to know so intimately.

Saint Francis de Sales! - Pray for us!