Pastor's Page
Fr Scott Michael John Whittemore was born in Victoria and raised in Saanich, BC. He is the youngest of three children born to the late Marie (nee Schleppe) and the late Robert (Bob) Whittemore.
Scott sought out and obtained employment during his first year as a teenager, picking strawberries and logan berries on the Saanich Peninsula. Numerous jobs followed, including park maintenance with BC Parks, work with children at a summer day camp and Easter Seal Camps, the (Victoria) mayor's task force on street youth, labour at the Alberta tar sands, tree planting, driving taxi, and a variety of other labour and human ministry positions.
As a young adult, Scott attended the University of Victoria for 5 years, first in Sciences and eventually he completed a Bachelor's degree in rural Social Work. For the next nine years he worked in the Central Coast, residing at Bella Coola, and later at the Queen Charlotte Islands/Haida Gwaii, as a Probation Officer/Parole Officer/Family Court Counsellor before pursuing his vocation to the priesthood.
Scott's calling to the priesthood took him to the Benedictine Abbey in Mission. While there, he was elected president of Christ the King Seminary and he completed a Bachelor's in Philosophy. He was sent to the Pontifical Institute of St Augustine's Seminary, Toronto, for their 5 year formation program leading up to a Bachelor's in Theology (from Rome) and a Master's in Divinity. He received honorary awards for the highest overall grades in Sacred Scripture courses, as well as for the highest achievement in pastoral studies and the associated practicums. He was ordained to the priesthood on the Solemnity of the Sacred Heart of Jesus, in 2005, at Immaculate Conception Church, Kelowna.
Since then, Fr Scott's appointments have included Nakusp and missions; Courtenay and the missions at Hornby Island, Gold River and Tahsis; Ucluelet with Tofino, Ahousaht and various other Nuu-cha-nulth missions on the West Coast; Port McNeill, together with Port Hardy, Port Alice, Alert Bay, Woss and a couple other missions on the north end of Vancouver Island; and 8 years on Salt Spring Island with outreach to the southern Gulf Island missions on Mayne and Pender Islands. In September 2023, he began a temporary ministry at the University of Victoria, as well as an indefinite appointment at St Rose of Lima Parish, Sooke.
Fr Scott's extracurricular interests have included playing lacrosse, hiking, fishing, photography, scuba diving, world travel, wilderness backpacking, rock climbing, cross-country and back country skiing, ocean kayaking, and swimming.
Chapel at the Grotto of Gethsemane, Jerusalem, 2007
Pastor's Notes
A Second Sunday Mass Time - SETTLED July 4/5, 2026 Three Sundays ago, we had a parish discussion regarding the addition of a second Mass on Sundays. I was really pleased to see the number of people present and the discussion that we had. A decision was made, which was sooner than i expected, but such a relief to have gotten to that point. Fourteen parishioners made it known that they would attend a Mass at 8:30, if the 9 am was dropped to that time, along with an 11 am Mass. Whereas, about 34 made it known that they would attend an 11:30 am Mass, if our current Mass was left at 9 am. And, the presence of about 50 parishioners at the meeting represented a significant portion of our parish. So, at some undetermined date, our parish will add another Mass, scheduled for 11:30 am. Our Parish Council will be monitoring the need and deciding when to initiate the additional Mass. We have already discussed various times of the year, including in 2027. There is more work to do before another Mass will be added, but setting a time is a major decision. I want to thank each person who contributed in a meaningful way to the dialogue and decision-making.