Father Angelo DePompa died December 8, 2014 at Columbus Residence in Vancouver.

Born in Newark, N.J., he joined the Society of Don Bosco, or the Salesians, and made his first profession August 15, 1953. He arrived in Japan November 29, 1953, to join the Salesian Seminary, Chofu, Tokyo, where he studied the Japanese language until April 1954. He taught English from then until 1956, then spent four years in seminary studies before ordination March 6, 1960, in Tokyo.

He continued teaching and working in parishes in Japan until 1973, when his order sent him home to the U.S. He had spent 20 years in Japan. Father DePompa’s work in the U.S. included preaching tours and providing pastoral assistance in parishes in various places, including Newark, N.J., the Cathedral in Honolulu, Hawaii, and Santa Clara, California.

In September 1977, he became the pastoral assistant at Our Lady of Good Counsel Church in Surrey and spent a few months working in St. Edmund’s Parish in North Vancouver, before becoming the administrator of the parishes on the Sunshine Coast: Holy Family Parish in Sechelt, St. Mary’s in Gibsons, Our Lady of Lourdes Church on the Sechelt native reserve, and the community in Pender Harbour.

In August 1993, Father DePompa was appointed the pastor of St. Joseph’s Parish in Squamish, until he was moved to Holy Rosary Cathedral for retirement in 2007. He was incardinated in the Archdiocese of Vancouver January 1, 1998, leaving behind his membership in the Salesians. He remained an American but was also a permanent resident of Canada. In 2010, Father DePompa received a papal blessing from Pope Benedict XVI for his 50th anniversary of ordination.

Father DePompa is survived by a brother, Marco DePompa of Florida, and cousins Angelo DePompa of Florida and Chancy DePompa of New Jersey, as well as a few nephews and nieces living in the United States.

Prayers for Father DePompa will be at 7:00 p.m., December 15, 2014, in Holy Name of Jesus Church, 4925 Cambie Street, Vancouver. Funeral Mass, at 10:00 a.m., December 16, 2014,  in Holy Rosary Cathedral, 480 Dunsmuir Street, Vancouver, will be said by Archbishop J. Michael Miller, CSB.