Description of the Diocese of Whitehorse
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.
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!
