Happy 100th to Toronto's Catholic Deaf Ministry!

This Saturday, August 25, St. Francis de Sales Deaf Ministry marks 100 years of serving the Catholic deaf of our city.

It all started when, in 1918, Mother Mary Columbiere of the Loretto Sisters asked Archbishop Neil McNeil for spiritual guidance for a newly engaged couple, where one of the betrothed happened to be deaf.  Mother Columbiere was subsequently put in charge of the Religious Services for the Catholic Deaf, and with the assistance the Paulist Fathers of St. Peter’s Church, ensured there was weekly mass at the Loretto Abbey for the deaf.

While trying to find records that document the Deaf Ministry's spiritual and social services in Toronto, I uncovered records that demonstrate St. Francis de Sales Deaf Society's role in forming the International Catholic Deaf Association.

Meetings of the St. Francis de Sales Deaf Society of Toronto had become so well attended that it sponsored the creation of the Ontario Catholic Deaf Association. While the two operated separately, members of the St. Francis de Sales Society were active in the O.C.D.A.

By 1948, interest in O.C.D.A. events spread to American cities, and leaders of the O.C.D.A. proposed to have an International Catholic Deaf Conference. Plans for a conference were finalized with the blessing of Cardinal McGuigan for July of 1949. A resolution to establish the International Catholic Deaf Association was passed in 1951, and St. Francis de Sales Deaf Society was named Chapter No. 1. Another nod to Toronto was the naming of Cardinal McGuigan as Honorary Patron of the I.C.D.A., in recognition of all his work that made the I.C.D.A. possible

The First International Catholic Deaf Congress was hosted by the O.C.D.A. at Toronto’s King Edward Hotel.

ARCAT Parish Collection,/Deaf Ministry/Publications

The historic first conference, and Toronto's importance in the founding of the I.C.D.A., is emphasized in the Association's amazing ten year anniversary publication. "The Birth of the I.C.D.A. and its Progress", created by Colette Gabel and published by the members of the International Catholic Deaf Association was put together entirely by deaf people. As it describes in its post script, "The English text may seem odd to you in some places...to keep intact as far as possible, the native charm of the deaf idiom"



"It all began in Canada..."

"The Birth of the I.C.D.A. and its Progress," c. 1961. By Collette Gabel, published by the Members of the International Catholic Deaf Association. pp 8-9.

Parish Collection/Deaf Ministry/International Catholic Deaf Association & St. Francis de Sales Catholic Deaf Society/General Correspondence 1963-1973 

The International Catholic Deaf Association still exists, with each country now holding their own annual national conference. Toronto is hosting Canada's National Conference this year from August 22 to August 26, 2018.

Visit the Archdiocese of Toronto's website to learn more about the history of St. Francis de Sales Deaf Community and its current ministry.

On this Day: the Ordination of Bishop Michael Power

One-Hundred and Ninety years ago on August 19th, fifteen years before the Archdiocese of Toronto was created and hundreds of kilometres north-east of the Town of York, our first Bishop, Michael Power, was ordained a priest.

Born in 1804 to Irish immigrants in Halifax, Bishop Power was only 12 years old when he began his studies for priesthood at the Seminary of St. Sulpice in Montreal. He was only 23 years old when he finished his training at the Seminary of Quebec. He would have several pastoral appointments in Quebec before being consecrated as the first Bishop of Toronto in 1842.

This week’s blog post features a copy of a letter written just before Bishop Power's ordination took place. The letter is addressed to Archbishop Panet of the Archdiocese of Quebec from the auxiliary Bishop J.J. Lartigue.

 

 

"According to your wishes, I ordained Mr Power as deacon last Sunday; and Monseigneur the Bishop of New York, who arrived here before yesterday, shall ordain him priest
[...]
This Mr. Power will suit me well enough [...] and I must always have an Irish Priest with me (at my place), especially for the needs of various parts of my district."



P AA02.03
Bishop Power Fonds

 

The letter records an important milestone in Bishop Power's religious life. It is also an early testimony of the strong relationship between Bishop Power and the Irish community that became part of his lasting legacy. It reveals a small but significant moment in our timeline, and is surely an event that should be remembered as we celebrate and reflect on the history of our Archdiocese.

You can find out more about Bishop Michael Power on our website.


 

Our mother church in the midst of a facelift

Today marks 174 years since the Diocese of Toronto was established and Rev. Michael Power named its first bishop.

St. Michael's Cathedral, the mother church of the archdiocese, is currently closed for extensive renovations (although there is an Advent and Christmas mass schedule).  It is hoped that the refurbished cathedral will reopen in time to celebrate our dodransbicentennial in 2016.

Last week, the cathedral opened its doors for a two-day Open House, offering the general public a sneak peak at the restoration in progress. The event was very well attended, with ​more than 4,300 visitors in total. The artists, craftspeople and contractors involved with the project displayed examples of their work at various stations around the cathedral, which was easy to navigate in the absence of any pews.

The Ceiling
One of the most striking elements of the restoration is the ceiling of the Cathedral. Now almost completed, it has occupied the father and daughter team of artists for over a year. The blue panels with gold stars follows the spirit of the original ceiling, which was painted over in subsequent years.

Archives Staff photo

The currently restored ceiling of St. Michael's Cathedral. The blue background with gold stars is a traditionally Gothic feature, which is consistent with the church's architecture. The pattern was designed to have strong diagonal lines, created by outlining some of the stars in red.  This draws the eye upwards, giving a similar effect as Gothic vaulting.  

Photographs Special Collection, PH0001/165CP
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]

This rendering depicts the original painted ceiling of the Cathedral: gold stars on a blue field. 

Cathedral Interior

Archives Staff photo

Most of the interior pillars have been replaced with new concrete supports. These posts will eventually be boxed in decorative covers. 

Archives Staff photo

A sample of the new pews, which can be sponsored by the public.

Photo courtesy of the Office of Public Relations and Communications

New stained glass has been commissioned, including this rose window.

Archives Staff photo

A sample of the new tile floor and the wall panelling that will cover the now exposed brick, as seen in the background.

Archives Staff photo

Restored wooden statues of the saints, which will be returned to the new Gothic screen that stands behind the sanctuary.

Photo courtesy of the Office of Public Relations and Communications

Examples of the different stages of statue restoration.

Marian Bronze Doors

Archives Staff photo

Artist's sketchbooks of the new Marian bronze doors. The panels will depict the Marian Mysteries of the Rosary.

Archives Staff photo

The panels of the bronze doors are cast using a modern "lost-wax method".  The artist carves these maquettes and then they are cast in rubber to make a mould. Wax is poured into the rubber mould to create a wax replica.  The wax is coated in many layers of ceramic. When the ceramic is fired, the wax core melts, leaving a cavity into which molten bronze is poured. Once the bronze has solidified, the ceramic mould is chipped off.

Photo courtesy of the Office of Public Relations and Communications

The bronze panels will be protected with gold leaf. This is one of the final panels.  The doors will take two more years to complete as shown in the sketch.

The Roof

Archives Staff photo

A representative from Semple Gooder Roofing shows off a sample of the new slate roof.  The original slate shingles lasted 120 years before being replaced by a solid-coloured roof.  The new third roof will copy the decorative pattern of the original shingles, as determined from archival photos.
Once installed, slate shingles weigh 10 lbs per square foot.

Archives Staff photo

In the foreground are two pieces of carved stone which are part of the vertical elements in cathedral's roofscape.
On the right is an original stone that was in good shape and needed only minor restoration.  On the left is a newly hand-carved copy to replace a similar element that could not be salvaged.

The Crypt Chapel
Bishop Michael Power spearheaded the building of the cathedral in 1845, but he died of typhoid while ministering to Irish immigrants in 1847.  Though Bishop Power did not get to see St. Michael's completed, he is buried in the crypt under the church's main altar.  As part of the current renovations, the basement has been excavated an additional 17 feet to accommodate a chapel. Appropriately, Bishop Power's tomb will be a central feature in the new crypt chapel.

Photo courtesy of the Office of Public Relations and Communications

The entrance foyer to the new crypt chapel.

Photo courtesy of the Office of Public Relations and Communications

The tombs are protected while the crypt chapel is being constructed

Photo courtesy of the Office of Public Relations and Communications

The master stone carver stands beside his third-scale model of the pietà.  The final statue will stand in front of the tomb of the three Loretto Sisters who are buried in the crypt.  The IBVM was the first female order invited to Toronto.

Proposed Cathedral Centre

Photo courtesy of the Office of Public Relations and Communications

This is a concept model for a Cathedral Centre, just north of the church (photo centre).  The upper floors would contain administrative offices, while the street level floors would function as multipurpose space and include a large church hall.

For more media coverage of the Cathedral Open House:

• Catholic Register​
• CityNews​
• CTV News Toronto
• Global News​
• National Post
• Zoomer News​

On the fourth day of Christmas, ARCAT stored for me…

...four photographs,

Photographs Special Collection: PH0002/05P; PH65/331CP; PH24F/21P; PH31P/227AL(35)

While we have more than 6,000 photographs stored in the archives, these four represent significant 2014 anniversaries.  Our most common requests for photographs result from anniversary celebrations. Clockwise from top:

• All Saints Parish, Etobicoke, turned 50 years old this year. Photo of the church's ground breaking ceremony shows Rev. Martin O'Grady with a shovel while Auxiliary Bishop Francis Allen looks on.
• We marked 30 years since John Paul II visited the Archdiocese of Toronto during the first Papal Visit to Canada.  The Pope was also canonized this past year. Photo of the pontiff disembarking a military helicopter in Midland, Ontario.
• Msgr. Vincent Foy celebrated 75 years of ordination to the priesthood in June.  He is the first priest of the archdiocese to reach this milestone. Photographic portrait taken in 1964.
• The construction of St. Ann's Church, Toronto, was completed a century ago. The first Mass was celebrated by Archbishop McNeil on the feast of St. Ann, July 26, 1914. This photo was taken as part of an archdiocesan property survey in 1914. Piles of construction material and debris can be seen in front of the building.

three mitres,

two maniples,

and a pen used to vote at Conclave.

Record of the Week: The Diocese of Toronto is erected

Happy Birthday Archdiocese of Toronto!

Today is a pretty special day for the archdiocese - one that its archivists have etched into their brain matter.

On this day in 1841, Pope Gregory XVI erected a new see encompassing the western half of Upper Canada. On the same day, Michael Power was appointed ordinary of the diocese, making him the first English-speaking bishop born in Canada. The pope also allowed Power to choose the episcopal city (lucky for us, it was Toronto).

Also celebrating a birthday today is Pope Francis, who turns 77! Buon Compleanno!

Parchment brief of Pope Gregory XVI erecting a new See in Upper Canada and
allowing Michael Power to choose the episcopal city.
Bishop Michael Power fonds, Roman Correspondence, PRC2302

Visit our historical timeline for more information on the early years of the Diocese of Toronto.