Happy Feast of St. Vincent De Paul!

"There is scarcely a single form of charitable activity existing in America at the present time that was not successfully undertaken by St. Vincent in France three centuries ago."  

 -- Henry Somerville

Today, September 27th, is the Feast Day of St. Vincent de Paul, patron saint of charities.

The Archdiocese of Toronto has shared St. Vincent de Paul's charitable spirit from its founding when Bishop Power and the Loretto Sisters risked their lives to help the sick and poor Irish immigrants.

Since then there have been too many charitable endeavours in our history to cover in one post, so this week we are highlighting the particular organizations and places in the Archdiocese under the patronage of St. Vincent de Paul.

  In addition to having an amazing cover page, this booklet details the many charitable deeds undertaken by St. Vincent to help the sick and the poor.

St. Vincent de Paul booklet by Henry Somerville, Paulist Press, 1916.

Archbishop McNeil Fonds
MN AP06.26

The Society of St. Vincent de Paul is a lay organization formed under the direction of Blessed Frederic Ozanam in 1833. The society is inspired by the words and deeds of its patron saint, developing programs, distributing resources, and advocating for those in need. The Toronto Council was established in the 1850s, and continues to offer thrift stores, residential housing, and programs such as sending children to summer camp and prison and home visitations.

St Vincent De Paul Society Bulletin for Toronto Particular Council, Vol 1, No. 1

February 1957

Other Collections - St. Vincent de Paul Society
 OC 012 BU12

St. Vincent's patronage has also been present in the Archdiocese through the works of the Congregation of the Mission (also known as the Vincentian Fathers). The order was founded by St. Vincent de Paul in 1625, and our very own Archbishop Lynch was ordained as a Vincentian in 1843. Like St. Vincent, Archbishop Lynch cared lovingly for Toronto's poor, who were often Irish Catholics.

Archbishop Lynch remained in close contact with his Province after leaving for Toronto. The following letter was written to Archbishop Lynch after he was named Bishop of Toronto in November 1859:


 

“It is the last time that I can presume to address you by the familiar and sweet name of confrere. You shall soon be, but in a fuller sense, what I always considered you, a dear and venerated Father.
[…]
So we have lost you in our poor litter Congregation! […] I can say emphatically and all who know you say, that your loss will be keenly felt by the Province in general and by the Seminary at the Falls in particular.
[…]
May Almighty God be with you in your new and higher sphere of action, and as when amongst us you were a faithful imitator of St. Vincent so may as a Bishop walk in the holy footsteps of St. Francis de Sales and St. Charles Borromeo"

November 8th, 1859

Archbishop Lynch Fonds
L AB01.10

After Archbishop Lynch's death, the Vincentian Fathers would not return to the Archdiocese until 1933 when they would administer different parishes in Toronto. The Slovenian Vincentians continue to be present in the Archdiocese, administering the parishes of Our Lady Help of Christians and Our Lady of the Miraculous Medal.

St. Vincent de Paul is also the patron saint of a Toronto parish of the same name, which appropriately celebrated its first mass on September 27th, 1914. The parish's St. Vincent de Paul Society and St. Vincent de Paul Separate School were both also established in 1914.

The first mass was celebrated by the parish on September 27th, 1914 in a storefront on Roncesvalles. The church building was dedicated 10 years later in September, 1924.

St. Vincent de Paul Parish 75th Anniversary Booklet, 1989

Parish Collections - St. Vincent de Paul - Publications

These instances of patronage to St. Vincent de Paul are only a small example of his influence in our Archdiocese. You can find out more about St. Vincent de Paul here.

"We ought to deal kindly with all, and to manifest those qualities which spring naturally from a heart tender and full of Christian charity; such as affability, love and humility"

-- St. Vincent de Paul

Month of the Holy Rosary

Every year, the month of October is dedicated to the Rosary. The origins of this go back to at least 1571, when Pope Pius V called for all of Europe to pray the rosary for victory at the Battle of Lepanto. The Christian victory at Lepanto was celebrated as the feast of Our Lady of Victory (now Our Lady of the Rosary) on October 7.

Rosary beads are traditionally divided into five groups of ten beads, called decades. There is a prayer to be recited for each bead and a mystery of Christ’s life that is to be contemplated for each decade. The repetition of prayers assists in entering a state of prayerful meditation.

Rosary beads come in all shapes, sizes and colours. This week, we thought we would showcase a couple of interesting Rosary beads from our collection.



This five decade Rosary is unlike any we've seen before: the beads are made from the pits of nuts.

AF286
ARCAT Artifact Collection

This Rosary is unusal for its size and the fact that is has six decades. The six decade Rosary is of the Brigittine tradition and has a slightly different structure to its prayer.

AF057
ARCAT Artifact Collection

You can find out more about how to pray the Rosary here.

All fired up for St. Lawrence

Photographs Special Collection, Slide #133-5A

Front entrance of St. Lawrence Martyr Parish on Lawrence Avenue, Scarborough, 1991.
The mosaic depicts the parish's patron with the instrument of his martyrdom, the gridiron.

Today is the feast day of St. Lawrence, a well known martyr of the early Roman Church.

St. Lawrence was one of the seven deacons of the city of Rome, under Pope Sixtus II, who were martyred when the Emperor Valerian ordered the persecution of Christians in 258 A.D. He was killed on August 10th of that year.

If his hagiography is anything to go by, St. Lawrence was also one of the Church's earliest comedians (which is why we took liberties with the title of this post): as he was being roasted alive on a gridiron, he supposedly called out to his torturers something to the effect of, "Turn me over, I'm done on this side." He is now the patron saint of the barbeque and cooks.

Celebrate St. Lawrence's feast day with a barbeque tonight! And if you go camping this month, say a little prayer over your campfire as you roast your hot dogs and marshmallows.

Photographs Special Collection, PH 26 Series 2.2

Seminarians from St. Augustine's Seminary sit around a campfire on the beach at the base of the Scarborough Bluffs, 1950s.
At you next campfire cookout this summer, say a prayer to St. Lawrence Martyr:

O glorious Saint Lawrence, Martyr and Deacon, who, being subjected to the most bitter torments, didst not lose thy faith nor thy constancy in confessing Jesus Christ, obtain in like manner for us such an active and solid faith, that we shall never be ashamed to be true followers of Jesus Christ, and fervent Christians in word and in deed. Amen.

Photographs Special Collection, PH 102/0022/08P

There is one parish in the Archdiocese of Toronto dedicated to St. Lawrence Martyr, shown here in the late 1960s (photo by John Sexton for the Catholic Register). The parish was founded in 1959. Construction of the church started in 1960 and the official blessing took place on May 21, 1961.
The church was designed by architect James Haffa in the Romanesque style. St. Lawrence is also the patron saint of Rome.
See the church today.

Of course, fires are no laughing matter and this has been a terrible summer for wildfires raging across the country, especially in British Columbia and Ontario.

St. Lawrence is also the patron saint of firefighters. Take a moment on this feast day to pray for the safety of our firefighters and give thanks for their selfless fortitude.

Groundhogs, mind your own beeswax

Today is Candlemas, more commonly referred to as the Feast of the Presentation of Christ in the Temple, or the Purification of the Blessed Virgin. This feast is one of the oldest on record, observed by early Christians since the 4th century A.D. in Jerusalem.

Candlemas is always celebrated on February 2nd, forty days after the birth of Christ. According to Mosaic law, a Jewish woman who delivers a male child is considered unclean for seven days following the birth and then housebound for an additional 33 days. After this time period, the mother visits the temple to be purified and present her child to the Lord and the community.

When Mary and Joseph presented Jesus at the temple, they encountered an eldery holy man, Simeon. The Holy Spirit had revealed to Simeon that he would not die until he had seen the Messiah. When he held the baby Jesus, Simeon knew the prophecy was fulfilled, calling Jesus the saviour of all,

“A light to the revelation of the Gentiles and the glory of thy people of Israel." (LK 2:22-40)

Because of this allusion to Christ as the Light of the World, the tradition of blessing candles has been included in the Candlemas liturgy. During the Mass, clergy bless the candles that will be used in the church for the year, and parishioners can bring candles from home to be blessed. Candlemas officially marks the end of the Christmas season, so if the nativity scene is still up, your procrastination is vindicated!

Archbishop John Lynch fonds, LRC68.08

May 24, 1885 - An indult granted to John Lynch, Archbishop of Toronto, by the Sacred Congregation for Propagation of the Faith under Pope Leo XIII transferring the Feast of the Purification of the Blessed Virgin and the blessing of candles to the Sunday following the Feast. 

The liturgical candles blessed on Candlemas are supposed to be made of beeswax, which is mystically significant. The pure wax produced by bees symbolizes the pure flesh of Christ received from His Virgin Mother. The candles do not have to be of pure beeswax, but a majority percentage is required. The most recent decree of the Congregation of Rites (1904) determined that the paschal candle must be of beeswax in maxima parte, which has been interpreted as at least 75 percent. The percentage is not as high for other liturgical candles.

Of course, there are exceptions to this rule, as the following letters demonstrate:

Archbishop Denis O'Connor fonds, ORC82.19

March 14, 1899 - A letter from the Sacred Congregation for Propagation of the Faith granting to Msgr. Neil McNeil, Vicar Apostolic of St. George's, Nfld., the faculty of using oil burning lamps for Holy Mass and other religious services in his jurisdiction since beeswax is not easily obtainable. This special consideration is granted for the duration of ten years.

Second World War series, SWGC01.98

December 19, 1942 - A letter to the Controller of Beeswax, Ottawa, from the plenary assembly of Catholic archbishops of Canada informing him that the percentage of beeswax required for liturgical candles is reduced to 51% for Mass candles and 25% for other functions of worship, in cooperation with the imposed war restrictions.

February 2nd also happens to mark the midpoint of winter between solstice and equinox. European weather lore held that if the day was sunny and clear, people could expect a long, harsh winter; if the sky was overcast, warmer weather was imminent. Hence the old English poem:

If Candlemas be fair and bright,

Come winter, have another flight.

If Candlemas bring clouds and rain,

Go winter, and come not again.  

In German-speaking areas, prognostication was left to the fauna. A sunny Candlemas meant that the local badger would see its shadow, foreboding a longer winter. This tradition was brought to North America by the Pennsylvania Dutch, who substituted the European badger with the local groundhog.

So today, grab your beeswax candles and check out Wiarton Willie's predictions for spring in Ontario.

A new coat for Michaelmas

Today is the feast of St. Michael the Archangel - or Michaelmas, if you prefer the more antiquated term.

St. Michael is the patron and protector of the Archdiocese of Toronto, as well as grocers, mariners, police and paratroopers.

Michael led the army of angels against Satan in the battle for heaven. In Hebrew, Micha'el means "Who is like God?".  The name was the war cry of the good angels - a rhetorical question demanded scornfully of Lucifer and his fallen angels. The motto of the Archdiocese of Toronto is Quis ut Deus, which is Latin for "Who is like God?" 

Our patron saint has been represented on both renditions of the archdiocesan coat of arms. In 1935, Archbishop of Toronto James McGuigan formalized the first corporate crest, which included the golden wings of the archangel.

From the archives, this undated document gives the official description of the coat of arms that appears on the old letterhead.

"The arms consist of the erect, golden wings representing St. Michael, the Patron of the Diocese..."

In the archives, we also store the (very heavy) metal shield that used to grace the entrance of the former chancery building:

In 1984, G. Emmett Cardinal Carter asked the College of Arms in London to create new corporate arms that would strongly reinforce the image of St. Michael as the protector of Toronto.

Our current crest is therefore dominated by the diagonal spear of St. Michael, which overcomes and controls the dragon’s head, symbolic of the Devil. The rays of light at the upper end of the cruciform shaft also allude to the Archangel, whose light overcomes Lucifer.

Description of the 1984 archdiocesan coat of arms on parchment.  The redesign was initiated by Cardinal Carter and registered with the College of Arms.  This version includes the archdiocesan motto "Quis ut Deus," or Who is like God?

A year ago, Thomas Cardinal Collins updated the coat of arms to include a mitre and more stylized shield. All archdiocesan communications now boast the new logo: