Renewing the Promise

We thought Catholic Education Week was the perfect opportunity to share with you one of our favourite photos from our collection, which shows a group of very serious school children.


Group photograph of girls from St. Paul's School seated at their desks, c. 1905

Buckley Collection, PH 93S/76P

The theme for this year's Catholic Education Week, Renewing the Promise, reminds us of our call to service and positions this in the framework of Catholic Education. It seemed appropriate to share a photograph of a confirmation ceremony at St. Paul's School, where ties and promises to Christ are strengthened.



Group photograph of a girls' Confirmation class of St. Paul's School with Reverend John L. Hand, Pastor of St. Paul's Parish, in the middle. 1906
 Buckley Collection, PH 93S/80P

You've Come a Long Way, Baby!

This week we are sharing a letter from an important figure in the history of the Archdiocese, the Honorable James Baby.

The Honorable James Baby

Baby (pronounced Baw-bee) was born in Detroit in 1763 and educated in Quebec. He became a respected businessman in Lower Canada and was appointed to a position in Upper Canada by Lieutenant Governor John Graves Simcoe. He served in various roles but was eventually appointed to Inspector General in 1815, when he moved to York.    

As a French Catholic in York, his options for practicing his faith were limited. Though land had been obtained by trustees for the Catholic community in the early years of the century, no church had been built, and visits by priests were infrequent. In 1821, Baby and the other trustees sold the original property and obtained ten acres near modern-day Queen and Parliament Streets. It was up to Baby to raise funds for and oversee the building of the first church between Sandwich and Kingston, which opened its doors in 1822 as St. Paul's.

Though he wrote many letters to Bishop Macdonell, we chose to share this pivotal moment in York's Catholic history, in which Baby tells the bishop that the land is being cleared for the new church. It is strange to think of ten acres of land in downtown Toronto needing to be cleared of trees, but that's how it was at the time!

My Dear Lord,

It gives me pleasure to be able to inform you that what was in contemplation during your stay here has been matured since your departure. His Excellency has been pleased to sanction (indeed confirmed) the recommendation of the Council upon the petition presented in your name and Trustees in behalf of the Roman Catholics of this place and its vicinity. The ground (two blocks each of 5 acres as per the plan you saw) are granted. They were estimated at £20 per acre - £200 in the whole on the annual payment of interest or rent. This sum to be redeemed at the option or pleasure of the Trustees. I hope I have not erred in comprising Ten instead of Five acres: we may relinquish the other five if it is thought advisable. For my part I have no hesitation to say that I would prefer taking the whole than the one half for I have no doubt that at no distant period the extra five will be found not only very valuable but most useful, particularly if you should be enabled to mature your plan of erecting a public school for young girls.  

The ground or spot where the church or chapel is intended to be erected is getting cleared: there will be tomorrow a Bee or collection of people to forward the work. In a few days I shall take steps to contract for the materials as well as for the undertaking of the building, the dimensions of which I will take take care not to be too contracted nor to exceed much our expected means.

I hope you have continued in good health and that you have reached your home in a comfortable manner.

I have been a good deal indisposed ever since the next Thursday after your departure from this place. I am however getting better.

I beg to subscribe myself with the most sincere respect.

My Dear Lord, your most obedient humble servant

J Baby

M AB01.02

Bishop Macdonell Fonds

The church that Baby built was the spiritual home for Toronto Catholics until St. Michael's Cathedral was built in the 1840s. It was the site of one of the earliest Catholic schools in the city, which still exists today. Though the building has since been replaced, St. Paul's is still an active parish serving downtown Toronto almost 200 years later. Baby's vision of a place for Catholics to gather and worship has endured. With his help, Toronto's Catholic community flourished and grew to be what it is today.

Old St. Paul's Church, Power Street

Photo published in The Story of St. Paul's Parish, Toronto, by Rev. E. Kelly, 1922, p. 45.

Record of the Week: 1861 Passport of Bishop Timothy O'Mahony

This week we are featuring the 1861 British passport of Bishop Timothy O'Mahony.

Timothy O'Mahony was born in Cork County, Ireland in 1825. He was ordained in 1849 and was a parish priest in the Diocese of Cork before being appointed first Bishop of Armidale, Australia in 1869.

Because of local Church politics, Bishop O'Mahony resigned his See in August of 1877 and returned to Europe. In 1879 he met Archbishop Lynch while the Archbishop was in Rome, which led to his appointment as the first Auxiliary Bishop of Toronto.

Upon his arrival in Toronto, Bishop O'Mahony took charge of St. Paul'sParish, where he began fundraising for a new church to accommodate the growing congregation. The new building was completed in 1889 and remains in use today. Bishop O'Mahony also performed episcopal duties and assisted Archbishop Lynch. In 1887 he even acted as the Administrator of the Diocese of Hamilton during the prolonged absence of Bishop James Carberry.

Bishop O'Mahony died in 1892, and was interred in a brick vault at the south-east corner of St. Paul's Church.

O'Mahony's 1861 passport is still in great shape even though the paper is thin and it was kept folded. It is stamped by officials of the Netherlands, Saxony, Dresden, Bavaria, and Austria. 

Travelling papers have been around in various forms for hundreds of years, and were issued in the monarch's name by the Secretary of State after 1794. They requested safe passage for the bearer, but were not necessarily required for travelers. The modern idea of a passport came into use during the First World War as a security measure.

1861 British Passport - a stamp from the Bavarian Embassy in London is visible in the top left corner. 

          "We Lord John Russell, a Member of Her Britannic Majesty's Most Honorable Privy Council, a Member of Parliament and Her Majesty's Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs, &c. &c. &c.

          Request and require in the Name of Her Majesty, all those whom it may concern, to allow Mr. Timothy Mahony (British Subject) travelling on the Continent

to pass freely without let or hindrance and to afford him every assistance and protection of which he may stand in need.

          Given at the Foreign Office, London, the 1 day of August 1861.

L AM13.03 - Obverse

Stamps from diplomatic institutions of  Austria, the Netherlands, Dresden and Saxony. We haven't been able to decipher the top stamp.

L AM13.03 - Reverse

For a brief history of British passports, see this 2006 Guardian article.

St. Paul's Basilica: A Home Away From Home

Last month it was announced that St. Michael’s Cathedral is temporarily closing its doors for renovations. To accommodate the Cathedral’s parishioners, additional weekend masses will be held at nearby St. Paul’s Basilica starting this weekend (Saturday 6:00 p.m.; Sunday 9:30 a.m. and 1:00 p.m.). Following summer break, masses will feature music from St. Michael’s Choir School.

It's appropriate that St. Paul’s will stand in for the Cathedral; before the completion of St. Michael’s in 1848, St. Paul’s was the diocese’s unofficial cathedral. It was the sole place of worship for Toronto Catholics and, by default, the seat of our first bishop, Most Rev. Michael Power.

For those who will be temporarily attending St. Paul’s, and for those with an interest in visiting the city’s oldest Catholic parish, we offer a brief history of the church, its architecture and artwork.*

Historical Context

Established in 1822, St. Paul’s was the first Catholic parish between Kingston and Windsor and, consequently, the original church of what is now the Archdiocese of Toronto. The first structure was a red brick Gothic-style building completed in 1824 on the present site (83 Power Street).  

Old St. Paul's Church, Power Street, Toronto, 1824-1889
Photograph published in The Story of St. Paul's Parish by Rev. E. Kelly (1922).
The original church was a red brick Gothic structure.

In its early years St. Paul’s served the Irish coming from their famine ravaged homeland.  In 1847, a typhus epidemic raged through the city, killing 850 people, including Bishop Power. Many were buried in mass graves on the church grounds.

During the nineteenth century St. Paul’s was a bulwark of Catholicism in a very Protestant city.  As the city grew and prospered, from “Muddy York” to an industrialized urban centre, so too did St. Paul’s.  By the turn of the century a dozen more parishes were erected in the city to accommodate the growing faithful. St. Paul’s Parish was reinvigorated with the building of the present church - a much larger edifice.  Its construction was initiated and overseen by its pastor, auxiliary bishop of Toronto, Most Rev. Thomas O’Mahony, and completed in 1889.

Photographs Collection,  PH0093/74CP 
Tomb of Bishop O'Mahoney, the pastor responsible for the building of the present church. 
He is buried on church grounds. The epitaph reads:
In Memoriam.
Beneath this stone repose the remains of the Right Rev. Timothy O'Mahony D.D.
Born in the parish of Kilmurray Co. Cork Ireland A.D. 1825 
Ordained priest 1849 Consecrated first bishop of Armidale Australia 1871
Auxiliary to the Archbishop of Toronto and appointed pastor of St. Paul's Church 1880
After a long and painful illness borne with Christian patience fortified with the sacraments and consolations of the Church
He departed this life Sept. 8th 1892
Requiescat in pace.

Architecture

The designer of the new church was renowned architect Joseph Connelly, who was also responsible for St. Mary’s (1852).  His decision to forsake the Gothic for Italian Renaissance was considered daring and internationally en vogue for the time.  St. Paul’s is built in the Romanesque basilica style with Ionic colonnades separating the central nave from the side aisles. It has rounded instead of pointed arches and a plain campanile rather than a sharp spire. Connelly imitated the style and design of the Basilica of St. Paul-Outside-The-Walls in Rome. The new St. Paul’s was solid, imposing, impregnable - a visible statement of faith.

Photographs Collection, Architectural Survey Album, PH31P/227AL(45)
St. Paul's Church and Rectory, 1914

Architect Joseph Connelly imitated the style and design of St. Paul-Outside-the-Walls Basilica in Rome.
The exterior dimensions are impressive: 174 feet in length; 70 feet in width of nave; 100 feet in width of transept; 129 feet high at the bell tower.  St Paul’s was unique among Toronto's Gothic-dominated ecclesiastical architecture of the time.

Artwork

Following Bishop O’Mahony’s death in 1892, the newly appointed pastor inherited an unfinished church. Dean John Hand embarked on an ambitious scheme to decorate the church with the beautiful murals, stained glass windows and statuary that make the church’s aesthetics truly remarkable.  Dean Hand commissioned the following works: 

1893: Four paintings by unknown Belgian artist: “The Conversion of St. Paul”; “The Last Supper”; “Gethsemane”; “Annunciation”

1894:  Commencement of the installation of stained glass windows and the clerestory windows

1898: All-wood organ by R.S. Williams & Son and enlargement of the gallery

1899: Statue of St. Paul, west façade

1901: Stations of the Cross, made of stone in Europe

1905: Completion of the campanile. The bell from the original St. Paul’s was installed in the new tower

1908: Three marble altars and pulpit

1911: Ten paintings of the life of St. Paul on the ceiling of the nave, “Ascension of our Lord” and “Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary” by G. Caroselli

1921: Soldiers’ World War One Memorial, west façade

1933: Pietà and memorial to Bishop Michael Power and Irish Famine victims

Photographs Collection, PH0093/57P
Photograph showing the apse and sanctuary in the 1950s.
The marble high altar and pulpit were commissioned by Dean Hand in 1908.

Photographs Collection, PH0093/63CP
The earliest artwork in the basilica are four 1893 paintings by an unknown Belgian artist, including "The Conversion of St. Paul" in the dome (Saul, Saul, why do you persecute me?) and "The Last Supper," copied from Leonardo's masterpiece.
These paintings have since been cleaned and restored.
Also note, following the reforms of Vatican II, the altar has been changed and the pulpit replaced with an ambo.

Photographs Collection, PH0093/15CP
1981 photograph of the nave looking towards the choir loft and wood organ, installed in 1898.
The barrel vault ceiling and Ionic colonnade are typical Romanesque features.
The ceiling paintings, commissioned in 1911, include ten scenes from the life of St. Paul. 

Photographs Collection, PH0093/47CP
One of the nave ceiling paintings of the life of St. Paul: " Paul in prison in Rome"
The scenes were painted on canvas and glued to the ceiling.

From 2001 to 2006, artist/restorer Carlos Nunes and his team cleaned and restored the interior artwork of St. Paul’s. Nunes has also worked on the restoration of the Cathedral’s paintings and windows.

A Minor Basilica

St. Paul’s Church was designated a Minor Basilica on August 3, 1999, in time for the Millennium Jubilee celebrations. The title is granted by pontifical authority to churches that meet a variety of conditions. For example, the church must: stand out as a centre of pastoral and liturgical activity; be large enough to carry out exemplary celebrations; and enjoy a certain renown throughout the diocese. The historical importance of the church and the worthiness of its art are also considered. St. Paul’s is the twentieth church in Canada to receive this papal honour.

From its origins, St. Paul’s has welcomed the stranger, the immigrant and the impoverished. Now it will also welcome the displaced Cathedral parishioner until March 2016.

*This historical summary has been adapted from a document written in 1999 by historian Michael Power to support the application for Minor Basilica status. 

Record of the Week: St. Paul's Girls' School

St. Paul's Girls' School Grade 8 (Entrance) Class, 1910
Buckley Collection, PH 29S/32PC

To mark the first day of school, we thought we'd share this postcard of an enthusiastic grade eight class from St. Paul's Girls' School in Toronto. Standing in the back row is Rev. Msgr. John Laurence Hand, pastor of Toronto's oldest Catholic parish from 1892 to 1936.  The girls' teacher, Sister Arsenia, is not photographed; one of the students sent her this souvenir postcard in the summer of 1910. This item was donated by Sr. Mary Buckley, CSJ, whose ancestor Margaret Buckley is identified as the girl in the second row from the back, third from the left.

On this day of new beginnings, we are thrilled to publish our first blog post!  The staff at ARCAT is hoping to keep our Archivist's Pencil sharpened for weekly features and other updates.