A Message from Your Churchwardens – Dean Vail announces retirement

The Very Reverend Stephen Vail, Dean of the Diocese of Toronto and Rector of St. James Cathedral, has announced his retirement.  His last Sunday at the Cathedral will be September 11, 2022.  At that time, Dean Stephen and his family will relocate to his native Nova Scotia.

For over 30 years, Dean Stephen has faithfully served our Lord in the Anglican Church of Canada. Educated at Wycliffe College, Dean Stephen was ordained in the Diocese of Nova Scotia & Prince Edward Island in 1991. He began his ministry as an Assistant Curate at St. Paul’s Halifax, and then moved to the Parish of Cornwallis in the Annapolis Valley until 2001.  That year, Dean Stephen and his family moved to the Diocese of Toronto, where he served as the Incumbent of St. Bride’s Clarkson; St. John the Evangelist, Port Hope and All Saints, Whitby before coming to St. James Cathedral in 2019.  Dean Stephen has been actively involved in various Diocesan Committees and was also the Archdeacon of Trent Durham.

It is with deep gratitude that we thank Dean Stephen for his ministry at St. James Cathedral and for journeying with us through the extremely difficult challenges of the pandemic. His pastoral guidance and organizational skills have given us the renewed strength and confidence to keep moving forward as a parish in this 225th Anniversary year of the life and ministry of St. James Cathedral.

We wish Dean Stephen and his family all the best in their next life chapter.

Jayne Hobbs & Joan Peters
Churchwardens