O Blessed Joseph

March is here! Today I learned that Pope Leo XIII dedicated this month to St. Joseph, whose feast day is March 19th, in his 1889 encyclical Quamquam Pluries.  

St. Joseph was special to Canada from the earliest days of the Recollect missionaries: they chose him as the patron of New France. From the chapel at Fort Ste. Marie to today's parishes and schools, many places in the Archdiocese of Toronto have been named after St. Joseph.

St. Joseph Chapel - Ste Marie Among the Hurons

S. Somerville, 1982

PH 31S/207SK

ARCAT Photograph Collection

St. Joseph's Parish in Leslieville was erected in 1878 and the first church was dedicated in 1886.

St. Joseph's Roman Catholic Church, Leslie Street

1880s

B 6-8c

Baldwin Collection, Toronto Public Library

The Sisters of St. Joseph have a long history of serving the people of the Archdiocese of Toronto. They had a convent on Wellesley Street from 1863.

St. Joseph's Convent, Wellesley Street

1870

Y9

Baldwin Collection, Toronto Public Library

The first St. Joseph's in Highland Creek, Scarborough, was completed as a mission church in 1856:

St. Joseph's Church, Highland Creek

1896

PH 075/01P

ARCAT Photograph Collection

St. Joseph's Church in Streetsville, Mississauga was consecrated in 1858:

St. Joseph's Church, Mississauga

1958

PH 152/51P

ARCAT Photograph Collection

Beaverton also has a St. Joseph's since the 1850s:

St. Joseph's Church, Beaverton

1982

PH 129/01CP

ARCAT Photograph Collection

The Sisters of St. Joseph founded St. Joseph's Hospital in 1921 on the site of their west-end orphanage:

St. Joseph's Hospital

1990?

PH 92S/01CP

ARCAT Photograph Collection

One among many schools named for St. Joseph, the high school in Barrie was first opened in a former Sisters of St. Joseph convent in 1946. Go Jags! 

St. Joseph's High School, Barrie

1963

PH 28S/20P

ARCAT Photograph Collection

Clearly St. Joseph has had an influence on the Archdiocese of Toronto! This month, we can say Pope Leo XIII's Prayer to St. Joseph:

To thee, O blessed Joseph, we have recourse in our affliction, and having implored the help of thy thrice holy Spouse, we now, with hearts filled with confidence, earnestly beg thee also to take us under thy protection. By that charity wherewith thou wert united to the Immaculate Virgin Mother of God, and by that fatherly love with which thou didst cherish the Child Jesus, we beseech thee and we humbly pray that thou wilt look down with gracious eye upon that inheritance which Jesus Christ purchased by His blood, and wilt succor us in our need by thy power and strength.

Defend, O most watchful guardian of the Holy Family, the chosen off-spring of Jesus Christ. Keep from us, O most loving Father, all blight of error and corruption. Aid us from on high, most valiant defender, in this conflict with the powers of darkness. And even as of old thou didst rescue the Child Jesus from the peril of His life, so now defend God's Holy Church from the snares of the enemy and from all adversity. Shield us ever under thy patronage, that, following thine example and strengthened by thy help, we may live a holy life, die a happy death, and attain to everlasting bliss in Heaven. Amen.

Revisiting the St. Augustine's Seminary archives

Over the years ARCAT has provided advice about archives and records management to other repositories, including religious archives, partner agencies and institutions.  In 1990, our director, Marc Lerman, was asked to arrange and describe the archives at St. Augustine's Seminary in Scarborough.

The seminary was established in 1913 as the first major seminary constructed in English-speaking Canada for the training of diocesan priests. Lately, the seminary has been under scaffolding for maintenance and renovations.  It was recently decided to move the archives from basement storage to a renovated room on the main floor.

In preparation for the move, our consultation services were again solicited. There had definitely been some accumulation in 23 years! It's always fun to rummage through boxes.  You never know what you'll find...

The main storage room in the seminary basement.  The archives will soon be moved to a renovated room on the main floor. 

Getting organized: laying out all the framed items in the basement corridor. 

An awesome safe.  Unfortunately we could not find the key.

Spectacles with case.

Marc modelling the spectacles.

Mitre and case with clerical collars. Items belonged to Most. Rev. Leonard Wall.  He was an auxiliary bishop of Toronto (1979-1992), and then Archbishop of Winnipeg.  When he retired, Abp. Wall returned to Toronto to reside at the seminary, which explains why his things are stored here.  We found many boxes of textual material and artifacts belonging to Abp. Wall.

The seminary archives has a wonderful photographs collection and much of it has been transferred to ARCAT for preservation purposes.  Yesterday, we installed a display featuring photos from this collection to celebrate the St. Augustine's Seminary's 100th anniversary:

Lobby display case at the Catholic Pastoral Centre, Archdiocese of Toronto

A Look Back at a Scarborough Landmark: St. Augustine's Seminary

The past month has seen the beginning of a year's worth of events celebrating the centenary of St. Augustine's Seminary.

While looking at some of ARCAT's old photos of the Seminary building, I was reminded that our records show not only the history of the Archdiocese, but also the history of Toronto and the other communities of which we are a part.

Take for example the following aerial shots of St. Augustine's. They illustrate how the area along Kingston Road looked before post-war development of the Cliffside neighbourhood of Scarborough occurred:

In this 1940 photo, Kingston Road is running off to the north-east in the upper left hand corner. The top of the photo shows Lake Ontario and the vicinity of the present Cathedral Bluffs Park and Scarborough Bluffs Sailing Club. The layout of the roads behind the Seminary is visible. Today, these streets are lined with houses and mature trees.

In this photo from the same year, Kingston Road is visible along the bottom with Lake Ontario at the top. The white house in the foreground is at the corner of Kingston Road and Chine Drive. It still stands today, though the front is now covered with ivy. Three houses have been built between that house and the house just out of view on the far right. Chine Drive and Kelsonia Avenue, which is parallel to Kingston Road, are now lined with houses as well.

The same corner today as shown on Google Streetview.

In this expansive photo, Kingston Road is again visible across the top. Resthaven Memorial Gardens can be seen across Kingston Road from the St. Augustine's. R.H. King Academy, which was founded as Scarborough High School in 1922 can be seen in the distance near the top centre. 

This wintry scene looks out from St. Augustine's towards Chine Drive. Kelsonia Avenue and Glenridge Road (which was known as Ardmour at the time) can also be seen.

In 2013, nobody would consider the St. Augustine's area rural, but as shown on the following 1916 map, St. Augustine's was surrounded by farmland when it was first built:

View this map on the University of Toronto Map and Data Library Website

These photos remind us that our bustling, busy city with its streets full of cars and shops and people was once fields and trees. It's easy to imagine that when the site for the seminary was chosen, the pastoral setting would have been idyllic for reflection, contemplation and study in preparation for the priesthood. The view from the windows has changed dramatically, but the will to serve the Catholics of Toronto and abroad has remained the same.

To compare the above photos with today's Cliffside, you can use Google Satellite:

View Larger Map

For a look back on 100 years of St. Augustine's check out the special feature in the Catholic Register.

The Toronto Public Library has more historic photos of Cliffside, the neighbourhood that surrounds the Seminary.