Give the gift of a Papal Blessing

Having a difficult time coming up with a wedding or birthday gift? Are you attending a baptism, first communication, or confirmation soon? You can celebrate these special occasions by gifting the recipient a Papal Blessing.

A Papal Blessing, or "Benediction Papalis", is a meaningful way to commemorate a moment in your or your loved one's life. While the blessing itself is invisible to the eye, it is memorialized in a parchment certificate containing the name(s) of the recipients, the papal seal, and the current Pope's photograph. These one of a kind parchment certificates are hand-painted and can be kept for years to come.

Last week, ARCAT received this Papal Blessing from the former Catholic Information Centre located at 830 Bathurst Street.

Papal Blessing for Reverend Father Francis Stone, C.S.P., the priests and laity engaged in the work of the Catholic Information Centre, Toronto, Canada.

January 27, 1964

Artifacts Special Collections
AF 393

The Catholic Information Centre (also known as the Paulist Ministry Centre) was dedicated and opened in 1958 under the direction of Fr. Francis Stone, C.S.P. It was occupied by the Paulist Fathers until they returned back to the United States in June 2015.

This Papal Blessing was granted in 1964 and features a photograph of Pope Paul VI. Note the beautiful hand-painted details:

For more information on how to request a Papal Blessing, click here.

Disarrangement and Discovery in the Archives

Arrangement and description are crucial components to our work as archivists. We organize and maintain the order of the records and then describe their context and contents to make them accessible.

This means that you rarely find “hidden treasures” in an archives. Our goal is to have records arranged and described in such a way that anyone would be able to find an item. Nevertheless, there are instances where a collection wasn’t properly arranged or described, and we unearth items we didn’t know we had, or didn’t know would be so interesting. 

This happened not too long ago when we found this intriguing scrapbook for St. Ann’s Parish, Penetanguishene, in a not-so-obvious part of our collection.


Select pages from the St. Ann's parish scrapbook, showing correspondence, photographs, and  newsclippings

HO 53.16

ARCAT Special Collections

The scrapbook is made from a converted collection register, containing historical articles, newspaper clippings, correspondence (parish affairs, invitations), broad sheets and photographs pertaining to Catholic activity in Huronia into the 1920s.

Most records we have for parishes can typically be found in our Parish Collection. Files in our parish collection are arranged and described first according to the parish, and then according to functions and activities (parish history, publications, construction and renovation, etc.).

The scrapbook, however, is not part of the parish collection, and has been included as part of our holograph series in our Special Collections. The holograph series is a puzzling assortment of bound, handwritten volumes, including anything from account ledgers to journals. To make matters even more confusing, we also have an entirely separate scrapbook series as part of our special collections.

Maintaining the original order of records and following standards such as RAD help archivists avoid unclear organization in their collections. Sorting out the kinks in our special collections is going to take some time, but we look forward to seeing what else we uncover.

In the meantime, here are some more pages from the Penetanguishene scrapbook:



HO 53.16

ARCAT Special Collections

 Find out more about our holdings on our website.

The Humidification Chamber: conserving photographs and documents

In January, we blogged about photographs we had recently acquired after they were discovered at the former Paulist Ministry Centre (previously the Catholic Information Centre).

The photographs were part of a poster entitled "1957-1958 Building the New Information Centre." Receiving this poster gave us an opportunity to practice some basic conservation and use our favourite device: the humidification chamber.

This inexpensive tool is remarkably effective for softening documents and photographs that have been rolled or creased so they can be flattened. Essentially, a humidification chamber is a sealed container that holds moisture, while preventing the documents from actually coming in contact with water.

In this case, we wanted to see if humidity would soften the glue that was used to adhere the photos to the poster board.

This was the original poster when it was transferred to the archives. There were twelve photographs glued to a banged-up piece of foamcore, along with some labels. The bottom photo was missing.

We appraised the contextual value of keeping the poster in this format: the glue and the foamcore were not archival quality; the poster was not particularly informative or aesthetically significant; it would require a large storage space. Therefore, we decided to remove the photos and discard the backing, but first we took this photo for reference.

Two of the photographs are duplicates: can you spot the matching pair?

When we first went through the humidification process, we used only the two duplicate photos to make sure it would work safely. After successful results, we humidified the remaining ten photos.

Here is our step-by-step process:

Step 1: Using a knife, cut the poster into smaller pieces containing the individual photos.

Step 2: Seal the photographs in the humidification chamber.

The chamber is a closed container that holds humidity, while preventing the documents from actually coming in contact with the water.

Our chamber is made from a storage bin with cooling racks (used for baking) raised off the bottom and secured to the walls with zip ties. Photos are placed on the racks, an inch of water is poured into the bin and plastic sheeting is secured with masking tape to seal in the air. As the water slowly evaporates at room temperature, the surrounding air becomes very humid and the documents absorb the moisture.

Step 3: Let the humidity work its magic. Check on the material periodically.

Materials absorb humidity at different rates. The clear container allowed us to check for progress. Over the course of the day, the photographs buckled and pulled away from the backing, indicating that the glue was sufficiently softened.

Step 4: Lift the photographs from the backing using a conservator's scalpel. In this case, they peeled right off.

Step 5: Place the moistened items between sheeting to be pressed.

The photos were placed on Reemay, a polyester used as a support for drying materials because it's non-stick. This was important because the glue on the back of the photos was reactivated by the humidity and quite tacky. Paper towels were placed on top of the Reemay, as a blotting material to absorb moisture.

Step 6: Press the moistened documents between so they dry flat. Leave overnight.

Step 7: Remove dry material from the press.

Bonus: we discovered extra labelling on the back of the photographs which helped us to further identify, date and describe the items.

Step 8: Rehouse and store the material.

The photos were placed in plastic sleeves, housed in acid-free archival boxes, and stored in climate controlled storage.

We have also had success using the humidification chamber for flattening rolled blueprints.  We do this specifically for architectural drawings that are crumpled, torn and brittle, which makes them very difficult to flatten for viewing.

Architectural Drawings Special Collection, ARCH 008 C

Fragile and damaged 1926 blueprints of Corpus Christi church, Toronto, are placed in the humidification chamber overnight.

The blueprints absorb moisture, making them pliable enough to be unrolled and pressed so that they dry flat. 

(In this case, scotch tape had been previously used in spots to repair the tears. Unfortunately, the humidity had little effect on the tape's adhesive. We decided to leave it rather than risk further damage by trying to remove it.  Never use tape on important records! Tape is the bane of archivists' existence.) 

After drying overnight, the flattened drawing is supported with museum board, interleaved with acid-free tissue and stored flat in an oversize archival box.

DIY humidification chambers can be made in a variety of ways. You can use a sink or nesting storage bins. Read more on how to make a humidification chamber. 

Canada Book Day 2016

Tomorrow is Canada Book Day, which coincides with UNESCO's World Book and Copyright Day, an annual celebration to promote reading, publishing and the protection of intellectual property through copyright.

April 23rd was chosen for its significance to world literature. Both William Shakespeare and Miguel de Cervantes died on April 23, 1616, making this year the 400th anniversary of their deaths. It is also the birth or death date of several other international authors.

In honour of Canada Book Day, we offer selections from the Sol and Morton Eisen Book Collection, which was donated to the Archdiocese in 2010. 

Sol Eisen (1898-1974) was a Toronto lawyer and rare book collector who specialized in Americana, Mexicana, Canadiana and early printing. Sol Eisen's Canadiana collection was donated to the University of Waterloo in 1992. The majority of the books donated to ARCAT relate to the history of the Church and Sol's son, Morton Eisen, wanted to return them to a Catholic repository.

Sol and Morton Eisen Book Collection
Cartilla Y Doctrina Christiana by Fray Bartholomé Roldán, O.P., Mexico, 1580

Example of the "Ex Libris Sol Eisen" bookplate attached inside many of the books' covers. Eisen's collecting focus included Mexicana.

This is one of eleven books in the collection that were not digitized because they were too fragile for scanning equipment.

Digitization of thirty-one books was generously sponsored by the John M. Kelly Library; they are available through https://archive.org/details/archdioceseoftoronto. The remaining eleven books in the collection were deemed too fragile or stiffly bound for the scanning equipment to be used safely on them. 

Sol and Morton Eisen Book Collection
Breviloquium of St. Bonaventure, Venice, 1472

Four of the books in the collection are incunabula, which means "from the cradle" or infancy of printing, specifically those printed in Europe before 1501. The Breviloquium is the earliest book in the collection and an example of Bonaventure's classic writings on theology and prayer.

St. Bonaventure (1221-1274) was a pivotal figure in the early development of the Franciscan Order and of the entire Western Church. A contemporary of St. Thomas Aquinas, Bonaventure studied and taught at the University of Paris. As Master General of the Order in the years after the death of St. Francis, he was crucial to the developments that made the Franciscans one of the most active and influential teaching, service and missionary orders in the Catholic Church. Later named a Cardinal by Pope Gregory X, he played a major part in the union of the Eastern and Western Churches at the Council of Lyon (1274).  He was named a Doctor of the Church in 1587.    

Sol and Morton Eisen Book Collection
De Psalmodia Christiana Y Sermonario De Los Sanctos Del Ano by Bernardino de Sahagún, Mexico, 1583

This is considered the most valuable book in the collection. It is a first edition written almost entirely in Nahuatl by Franciscan Fray Bernardino de Sahagún (1499-1590). De Sahagún, a Spanish Franciscan missionary in Mexico, wrote catechetical and liturgical books in the language of the Aztec people to whom he ministered. Famous in Mexico and among historians and other social scientists of the Americas, he is also often called the first ethnographer, since he did a broad and systematic study, by interviews with Aztec people, of the culture, social structure, art, religion and other key aspects of their society prior to European contact.  

Sol and Morton Eisen Book Collection
Arte De La Lengua Mexicana con la Declaracion De Los Adverbios Della...,by Padre Horacio Carochi, Mexico, 1645

This first edition by Jesuit priest Horacio Carochi, Rector of the College of Saint Peter and St. Paul de Mexico, is an academic teaching tool in the Nahuatl Aztec language itself. 

Sol and Morton Eisen Book Collection
Viage De Jerusalen Que Hizo Francisco Guerrero, Racionero, y Maestro de Capilla de la Santa Iglesia de Sevilla by Francisco Guerrero , Seville, 1694

This is a travel memoir through Jerusalem written by a 70-year-old Spaniard who had had a highly significant career as chapel master and composer of sacred music.  First published in 1590, the book being republished in 1694.

Its stiff leather cover and bindings made this book too difficult to digitize.

Why not celebrate Canada Book Day by visiting the Thomas Fisher Rare Book Library? To mark the 400th anniversary of Shakespeare's death, the library is holding a special opening of  the exhibition ‘So long lives this’: A Celebration of Shakespeare’s Life and Works. Highlights include a selection of Shakespeare's printed plays and poems from the library's collection.

Record of the Week: St. Michael the Archangel, Our Patron Saint

Blessing and laying of the cornerstone of the new cathedral of this city to be erected under the invocation of St. Michael the Archangel "whom we had already and publicly announced as the Principal Patron - protector of the City of Toronto"

Special Collections: Letterbooks, LB01.133

This past Sunday, September 29, 2013 the whole Archdiocese of Toronto celebrated the Solemnity of St. Michael the Archangel, our patron saint.  One hundred and sixty-five years ago on September 29, 1848, St. Michael’s Cathedral was dedicated.  The naming of the Cathedral and the dedication of the diocese to St. Michael the Archangel has much significance.  Not only was our first bishop, Michael Power named for him, but as a warrior and protector, St. Michael would have been a powerful and fierce saint to invoke in nineteenth century Ontario.  Toronto was at the edge of the frontier and the Catholics of the time would have felt the need to keep the forces of evil and Protestantism at bay.

The image above is the record of the laying of the cornerstone of St. Michael’s Cathedral on May 8, 1845.  This record can be found in a letterbook, which is an oversized bound volume.  Before photocopiers and even carbon paper, letterbooks were the way bishops in the past kept copies of outgoing correspondence, recorded special events, and documented important appointments, policies and regulations of the Diocese.

Record of the Week: Papal Medal of the Reconvening of Vatican II

Paul VI papal medal, 1963
Medallions Special Collection, MD.23

Fifty years ago, Pope Paul VI reconvened the Second Vatican Council, which had automatically closed with the death of Pope John XXIII.  Paul VI, portrayed in profile on the obverse of this medal, was known for giving Vatican II clear direction, and for leading the implementation of its resulting reforms.

This papal medal commemorates Paul VI opening the second session of Vatican II in 1963. The reverse depicts the Supreme Pontiff walking through the doors of St. Peter's Basilica to a crowd of seated participants. St. Peter's Baldachin over the main altar can be seen in the background.

The medal likely belonged to Most Rev. Philip F. Pocock, Coadjutor Archbishop of Toronto at the time, who participated in Vatican II on behalf of Archbishop James Cardinal McGuigan. It has an "800" stamp on the reverse, indicating a composition of 80% silver and 20% copper.

The issuing of papal jubilee medals began as early as 1475. Since then, the most noteworthy actions of each pontificate have been commemorated by medals, often designed by famous artists. 

Display of medals at the Catholic Pastoral Centre

Today we took down a display of medals from the lobby entrance of the Catholic Pastoral Centre. Luckily - because the medals are impervious to heat and sunlight - we were able to keep the display up all summer.