Record of the Week: A Sappy Photo

March in Southern Ontario is maple syrup season. With warmer weather, starch that was stored in tree trunks over winter gets converted to sugary sap - perfect for making syrup.

This undated photograph shows seminarians trying their hand at collecting sap in jars.  Let's hope they found a lot of maple trees on the grounds of St. Augustine's Seminary; the conversion ratio of sap to syrup is approximately fifty to one.

Seminarians collecting sap, [191-]
St. Augustine's Seminary Photographs Collection
PH26S/62P

Is there any better way to entertain children during March Break than feeding them sugar in the form of rich maple syrup poured over snow?

With no end of winter in sight, maple syrup celebrations have been extended this year.  In the archdiocese, you can visit the Sugarbush Maple Syrup Festival in Woodbridge or Stouffville until April 13th to get your maple fix.

Record of the Week: Diocese of Toronto is raised to Archdiocese

Portrait of Most. Rev. Lynch by Kurz & Allison, Art Publishers, Chicago,1884.
PH04/04P

On this day in 1870, the See of Toronto was elevated to an archdiocese, making Bishop John Joseph Lynch its first archbishop.

This decision was made during the First Vatican Council, 1869-1870 (so-called because it was the first council held at the Vatican Basilica).

These two bulls of Pope Pius IX:

• divide the Ecclesiastical Province of Quebec to erect the Ecclesiastical Province of Toronto, and raise the See of Toronto to metropolitan status;
• nominate Bishop Lynch to the Metropolitan See of Toronto.

As a result of Toronto gaining metropolitan status, the Dioceses of Kingston, Hamilton, and Sandwich were also established as suffragan sees.

Bulls of Pope Pius IX dated March 18, 1870
L RC 52.09 & 52.10

Happy Birthday, Toronto!

In honor of Toronto's 180th birthday, we went into the Archives to see what the Catholic Church in Toronto was like in 1834. We found the following report written for Archbishop McNeil in 1934:

"In 1834 St. Paul's was the only parish in Toronto. The church was then near the Don River bridge. The Reverend Peter MacDonald was Pastor. Bishop Macdonell of Kingston had jurisdiction in Toronto at that time, and he served as Pastor of St. Paul's during the first part of 1834, assisted by Reverend William P. McDonough and Reverend Edward Gordon. The number of parishioners was then nearly two thousand."

In 1834, there were 2000 Catholics and one parish in Toronto. 180 years later, there are over 1.9 million Catholics and 225 parishes in the diocese. We've come a long way!

Record of the Week: Regulations for Lent, 1855

Today is Ash Wednesday, which marks the beginning of Lent. Catholics are called to do penance – fasting, prayer, and alms-giving - as they prepare for the death and resurrection of Christ at Easter.

Our Record of the Week focuses on fasting and abstinence. In the Latin Rite, fasting is the limitation of food and drink to one main meal and two smaller meals a day, with no solid foods in between. Abstinence refers to not eating certain kinds of food or drink, typically meat.

Although the general guidelines for fasting and abstaining remain consistent, specific rules have changed over time to reflect socioeconomic circumstances and local tradition. For example, these Lenten regulations were issued in 1855 by the second Bishop of Toronto, Armand François Marie de Charbonnel P.S.S. 

Rule No. 5 states:

"An approved custom has introduced a small collation in the morning consisting of a cup of tea, coffee or chocolate, with about an ounce of bread."

Rule No. 7 also advises:

"Catholic boarding house keepers will remember that they are obligated in conscience to present to their Catholic boarders such food as Catholics are permitted to use at these meals and on those days when they are bound to observe the law of abstinence."

Although "the use of flesh meat" is restricted to certain days, rule No. 4 allows that "Lard may be used in preparing fasting food."

Current regulations for Lent allow one to substitute works of charity for fasting.

Worth repeating is Bishop de Charbonnel's final sentiment:

"Let this holy time be for all days of retirement and prayer, days of penance and alms-giving, days of grace, fervour and salvation."

These lenten Regulations are noted in a letterbook, which served as a duplicate record of the bishops' outgoing communications in the days before photocopying!
This entry is dated February 21st, 1855.
LB 02.407

This Day in History: Archbishop Ambrozic becomes Cardinal Ambrozic

On February 21, 1998, Most Reverend Archbishop Aloysius Matthew Ambrozic became His Eminence Aloysius Matthew Cardinal Ambrozic. 

Aloysius Matthew Ambrozic was born in Gaberje, Slovenia on January 27, 1930. In September of 1948 he and his family emigrated to Canada where he studied philosophy and theology at St. Augustine's Seminary. On June 4, 1955, he was ordained priest by Cardinal McGuigan in St. Michael's Cathedral. 

On March 26, 1976, Father Ambrozic was appointed Auxiliary Bishop of Toronto. He was appointed Coadjutor Archbishop of Toronto on May 22, 1986, and succeeded as Archbishop in March 17, 1990.

On January 18, 1998 Pope John Paul II nominated Archbishop Ambrozic a Cardinal, and he was elevated to the College on February 21.  

Cardinal Ambrozic retired as Archbishop of Toronto on December 16, 2006. He passed away on August 26, 2011 and was interred in the Bishops’ Mausoleum at Holy Cross Cemetery, Toronto.

Cardinal Ambrozic receives a red watered silk biretta from Pope John Paul II. This photo was published by L'Osservatore Romano in Rome, Italy.

ARCAT holds the above biretta (displayed on our nifty head model) owned by Cardinal Ambrozic. Birettas are worn by clergy from Cardinals to Seminarians, and are thought to have been derived from academic caps of the middle ages. The clerical biretta has three peaks, and is always worn with the non-peaked corner facing left so that the wearer can grab the middle peak with his right hand.

Record of the Week: Happy Valentine's Day!

When we think of Valentine's Day, we often think of romantic love. However, it is also a time to think about love for our family, friends, neighbours, and even strangers.  At one time we would have called this 'brotherly love,' but today we might say 'altruism,' 'empathy,' 'charity,' 'compassion,' 'mercy,' 'kindness,' 'generosity,' and a whole thesaurus of other words.

The seventh ordinary and fifth Archbishop of Toronto, the Most Reverend Neil McNeil was a leader who embodied many of these words. Below is a handwritten draft of a prayer by Archbishop McNeil asking for the wisdom to understand how to love all people, even enemies. 

O God, Heavenly Father, look down upon Thy children here below. Enlighten our minds that we may see and understand what Thy fatherhood involves for us in brotherhood and in good will as a duty to our neighbor. Thou didst send Thine only begotten Son on earth to teach us the ways of brotherly love. He gave us the ideal and the example of it in His supreme sacrifice. He commanded us to love one another - to love even our enemies, and His apostle tells us that whosoever hateth his brother is a murderer. Heavenly Father, help us to gauge the worth of fellow men, not by what they own, but by what they are; not by our selfish interest, but by their needs and deeds; not by our national or racial feelings, but by their brotherhood in Thee, our Father in Heaven.
(Archbishop Neil McNeil fonds, MN AR01.26)

Extraordinary Birthday for our Ordinary

We wish Cardinal Thomas Collins, Archbishop of Toronto, a happy birthday today.

Yesterday Cardinal Collins was appointed a member of the Commission of Cardinals for oversight of the Institute for the Works of Religion (IOR) by Pope Francis. IOR is commonly referred to as the Vatican Bank.

Read the Cardinal's statement regarding this appointment here.

Read this related article from The Catholic Register.