The Catholic community of Most Holy Mother of God was begun by Andre Popov, a young Soviet naval officer. Popov converted to Roman Catholicism after reading restricted religious literature as part of his political indoctrinating course to become a Communist political officer.

In 1991, Popov put ads in the local Vladivostok papers, looking for other Catholics. After a community had formed (under the patronage of the Most Holy Mother of God, the historical name of the Vladivostok parish), Popov wrote to the newly appointed bishop of the Apostolic Administration of Novosibirsk, Joseph Werth, and asked for a priest. At about the same time, Fr. Myron Effing was visiting the bishop, so the bishop asked him to visit Vladivostok and report back. On November 15, 1991, Bishop Werth accepted the application of Fr. Myron and (then) Br. Daniel Maurer to be the first resident Roman Catholic clergy in Vladivostok in 50 years.

Cathedral at Vladivostok.

The first help for the new parish in Vladivostok came from Fr. Joseph Fessio, SJ, in the form of two automobiles and an introduction to e-mail, which was still in its infancy at the time but became the most valuable tool for the new missionaries. The second help came from American Catholics through the annual collection for the Church in Eastern Europe. The fund gave the parish $30,000 to pay for the initial expenses of receiving the old Vladivostok cathedral and securing it—the second church to be received back in Russia (the first was the church in Tomsk in Siberia). Later, St. Mary's parish in Little Falls, Minnesota, gave an unrestricted donation of $10,000, which was partly used on the church building. The parishioners look forward to the day when the restoration of the church will be complete and they will have outlived the ravages of Communism. (Click here to see a timeline of what has been accomplished on the cathedral. Click here to see what remains to be done.) Most Holy Mother of God Catholic Church continues to rely on American parishes under the patronage of Mary for support.

A recent development in the Vladivostok parish life has been the activation of the Korean Catholics who live in Vladivostok. The Sisters of St. Paul of Chartes from Seoul have come to live in Vladivostok for a year while they learn Russian. They have begun to interact with the local Korean community.

When Fr. Myron and Br. Dan came to Vladivostok, there were only two Catholics younger than 60, both of them with families and children, and there were fewer than 10 baptized Catholics. As of 2003, Most Holy Mother of God parish has over 400 parishioners, and the parish is responsible for undertaking a number of charitable works, including three women's support centers within the parish boundaries, an alcoholism recovery program, and programs to feed and clothe elderly and children. A second parish, St. Joseph, has been opened in the Second River area of Vladivostok.

Mass celebrated at the Vladivostok cathedral in honor of the 2000 Jubilee Year.