Our lady of Mercy Parish began as an idea in 1941. Archbishop William Duke, D.D., of Vancouver invited the Fathers of Mercy to establish a parish that would serve Catholics in South Burnaby, the west end of New Westminster, and Queensborough. Three priests came from New York to carry out this task. At that time, the land where our church and school now stand was just swampy ground with a small stream, so Fathers Henry Hall, Julian Burt, and Edward Malayter found living quarters elsewhere in the area. Masses were celebrated in St. Genevieve School in New Westminster.

When Fr. Charles Lacey took over as pastor, the land for the parish was purchased. On the corner of 10th Avenue and Kingsway stood a huge house, built in 1892 by a member of Burnaby’s first city council. The house was renovated as the rectory. In 1942, the parish applied for a licence to build a church. Because of shortages during the war, only a small “basement church” – a basement with a roof was built. It was blessed on October 15, 1944. In September 1959, Our Lady of Mercy School opened. The Fathers of Mercy returned to New York in 1960, and OLM became a diocesan parish.

Fr. Gordon McKinnon celebrated the last Mass in the old church on Thanksgiving Day, 1986. By November that year, the church and rectory had been demolished, and work had begun on the new structure. While our present church was being built, Sunday Mass was celebrated in the school gym and weekday, Masses at the St.Thomas More students’ chapel. The new church as blessed on June 20, 1987. In the years since then, we have had Fr. Terrance Bileski, Fr George Varghese, Fr. Joseph Nguyen, Fr Wilfred Gomes and now Fr.Joaquim Dias as our pastors.

During the early years, the Holy Name Society and the Altar Society organized parish activities and fundraising projects. Since then, other organizations, such as the Catholic Women’s League, the Knights of Columbus, and the Legion of Mary, have formed chapters at OLM. For many years, our parish and school life was also enriched by the presence of the Sisters of Charity of Providence and the Sisters of Mercy.

In recent years, more and more people have moved into our parish. Today OLM is a community of approximately 1,500 parishioners. We come together for weekday and Sunday Masses and to participate in a variety of parish groups and activities, such as the choir, children’s liturgy program, Rite of Christian Initiation for Adults, Parish Religious Education, Project Advance, Mustard Seed Prayer Group, Parish Outreach, Parish Education Committee, and Pastoral Committee. We face our future with hope and look forward to the continued growth of our parish and school community.