Record of the Week: Photos of the Church's newest saints

Photograph of Pope John XXIII with Toronto Mayor Nathan Phillips and his wife.
[between 1958 and 1962]
PH 63/13CP

Pope John Paul II arrives at Pearson Airport September 14, 1984 for the
Toronto/Huronia leg of the Papal Visit to Canada
Photograph courtesy RCMP/GRC

On Sunday, two former popes - Blessed John XXIII and Blessed John Paul II - will be canonized.

The Archdiocese of Toronto has created a website that includes biographies, stories from people who met the Popes and local events celebrating the canonizations.  There is also a list of the many monuments, schools, parishes and other buildings in the archdiocese named after the Church's two newest saints.

ARCAT created a display of photos, papal medals depicting the Popes, as well as ephemera from the 1984 Papal Visit to Canada.

Our latest display in the entrance of the Catholic Pastoral Centre. 

Record of the Week: Happy Easter! cards

A happy and blessed Easter from the ARCAT family to your family! What a better way to send our greetings than with a collection of vintage Easter cards from the 1940s, '50s and '60s from the Cardinal McGuigan Fonds?

"May the Giver of Gifts give unto you 

An Easter that's blessed 

the whole day through, 

And then, through the days of the springtime too, 

The will to help

and the courage to do,

A heart that can sing

each day anew,

Whether the skies are gray

or blue...

May the Giver of Gifts

give these to you."

"May God be ever near to you

And may His love impart

The holy peace of Easter time to dwell within your heart,

Then, may He grant you happiness

And always, day by day,

May His eternal love be yours 

Along life's future way."

"A year of happy, joyous days, 

With hopes fulfilled

and dreams come true,

And all the best

that life can send,

That is my Easter Wish 

For You!"

"May the solemn Feast 

of

Christ's Resurrection

be a day of great spiritual joy

with a rich fruition

of Eucharistic graces.

May the love, mercy and tenderness

of Christ's Eucharistic Heart

triumph in your soul

and of those whom you shepherd."

"May He who arose 

at Eastertime

keep you safely in His care

and grant you blessings 

every day

And guide you everywhere."

ARCAT made the front page...

...of The Catholic Register for a new initiative called the Sacred Objects Exchange (SOX).

The aim of the program is to solicit from our parishes donations of ecclesiastical items (liturgical objects, artwork, relics, vestments etc.) that have fallen into disuse or disrepair in order to make them available to parishes and Catholic organizations in need.

Our initial inventory of sacred objects available for redistribution.
View our SOX galleries.

Photo Courtesy Ruane Remy for The Catholic Register,
6 April 2014
www.catholicregister.org

You can read the Catholic Register article here.*

*Please note that the Ark of the Covenant pictured on my desk is not one of the available sacred objects.  It's just the most awesome business card holder ever made.

Archives Awareness Week in Ontario: Name that Church!

This is the poster we displayed at the Catholic Pastoral Centre.  Scroll down for the answers.

For Archives Awareness Week, we decided to test your knowledge of church buildings in the Archdiocese of Toronto.  In addition, we wanted to highlight different types of archival records in our holdings, including photographs, slides, architectural drawings, artistic renderings, promotional materials, and ephemera. And, of course, we hoped to direct more people to our new blog.

Why these ten churches in particular?  ARCAT's digitization projects are largely driven by user demand. These are images we had scanned or photographed as a result of duplication requests.  The most common digitization orders are from parishes preparing for anniversary celebrations.

And now for the answers...

Corpus Christi Church, 16 Lockwood Rd.,Toronto
Front elevation from original set of blueprints, 1926
by J. Gibb Morton, architect
Architectural Drawings Special Collection, ARCH 008C

Our Lady Queen of the World Church, 10411 Bayview Ave., Richmond Hill
Slide showing church sanctuary, 1986
Archdiocesan Parish Photographic Survey, PH 78/50

St. Clare Church, 1118 St. Clair Ave. W, Toronto
Photograph of front facade, 1963
Photographs Special Collection, PH 0055/19P

St. Mary Star of the Sea Church, 11 Peter St. South, Port Credit
Photograph of the new church (foreground) beside the old church (left), [1953]
Photographs Special Collection, PH 0155/07P

St. Paul's Basilica Church, 83 Power St., Toronto
Photograph taken from the balcony showing the barrel vaulted ceiling and sanctuary, [undated]
Photographs Special Collection, PH 0093/63CP

St. John the Evangelist Church, 903 Gifford St., Whitby
Postcard highlighting the church's cutting edge roof structure, [196-]
Photographs Special Collection, PH 0189/19PC

St. Basil's Church at the University of St. Michael's College, 50 St. Joseph St.,Toronto
Print of an engraving by Maclear & Co. Lithographers, 1855;  published in Ure's "Handbook of Toronto," 1858.
Photographs Special Collection, PH 0045/15P

St. Clare of Assisi Church, 150 St. Francis Ave., Woodbridge
Photograph of bell tower, 2008
ARCAT for Cultural Heritage Pilot Project

St. James' Church, 2118 Adjala-Tecumseth Townline, Colgan
Photograph of front exterior, 1963
Photographs Special Collection, PH 0137/23CP

St. Michael's Cathedral Church, 65 Bond St., Toronto
Photograph of lithograph depicting Bishop John J. Lynch giving the veil to a novice of the Loretto Convent
by G. A. Binkert; printed by W. C. Chewett and Co., [between 1860 and 1868]
Photographs Special Collection, PH 0001/165CP

R.I.P. Bishop Lacey

Today, the Archdiocese of Toronto announced the death of retired Auxiliary Bishop M. Pearse Lacey.
He passed away yesterday evening at the age of 97.
Read the media release here.

Then pastor of Transfiguration of Our Lord Parish, Etobicoke, Rev. Lacey is pictured in 1965.
He administered the building of Transfiguration of Our Lord church, rectory and school.
Photographs Special Collection, PH 16/03 P

Official portrait of Bishop Lacey in episcopal choir dress
by Newsome Photography, [199-]
Photographs Special Collection, PH 16/01 CP

Bishop Lacey was one of three auxiliaries appointed under Cardinal Carter's administration.
He served the Western Region of the Archdiocese of Toronto from 1979 to 1993, when he retired.
Bishop Lacey fonds, episcopal ordination program.

In honour of Bishop Lacey's 90th birthday, Blessed Trinity Parish distributed a prayer card featuring an image
of Pope John Paul II painted by Bishop Lacey.