Coadjutor archbishop goes up a mountain!

By Laureen McMahon

Simon Fraser University was bathed in late January sunshine as Vancouver Coadjutor Archbishop J. Michael Miller, CSB, drove up Burnaby Mountain for his first visit to the campus since coming to the archdiocese last summer.

Marianne Meadahl / Special to The B.C. Catholic Garth Hough (left) and Eric Chow of Catholic Christian Outreach show off the snowy beauty of Simon Fraser University and the North Shore Mountains (seen below the building) to visiting Coadjutor Archbishop J. Michael Miller, CSB. It was the archbishop's first visit to the Burnaby Mountain campus. More stories, photos, Pages 8 and 16.

The air was bracing and snow crunched underfoot as the archbishop, a former president of the University of St. Thomas in Texas and recipient of several honorary degrees and doctorates, toured the campus. He was being hosted by Father Fernando Mignone, a priest of the Prelature of Opus Dei who was appointed SFU chaplain last September.

The stunning architecture and breath-taking views of Burrard Inlet, the mountains, and the city, sparkling below like a diamond in the sunlight, were "striking," said the archbishop.

Before taking an introductory stroll around the buildings and grounds, he was warmly welcomed by about 60 Catholic students for a question-and-answer session at the campus Interfaith Centre.

He later blessed a donated photographic reproduction of Our Lady of Guadalupe, offered the Mass, and confirmed second-year business student Jason Fielding-Tweedie before lunching with university president Dr. Michael Stevenson.