Darn it! Sacred Stitches is sew worth seeing!

If you are anywhere in downtown Toronto this week, it's definitely worth popping over to St. James Anglican Cathedral to see Sacred Stitches: Beauty and Holiness in the Needlework of Many Faiths. The show celebrates the Ecclesiastical Needleworkers' centenary and features over 100 works of embroidery and textile art.

Sacred Stitches is installed in St. James Anglican Cathedral.  The image on the poster (above) comes from the stained glass window on the left of this photo, illustrating the renewal of culture in England during the 9th and 10th centuries following the Viking invasions.

This multi-faith exhibit includes pieces by contemporary artists, cherished family heirlooms, and gorgeous banners, vestments and tapestries created by stitchery guilds.

ARCAT was thrilled to participate in the exhibit.  We loaned a fiddleback chasuble and dalmatic, funeral vestments and a pair of ceremonial gloves.

The dalmatic (the liturgical vestment worn by deacons) from ARCAT's collection features painted velvet flowers which have been stitched to the silk.  Originally from St. Margaret's Parish in Midland. Transferred to ARCAT for preservation after a fire at the parish in 1986.

The pieces have been installed all along the side aisles of the church and in front of the sanctuary. The exhibit is supervised twelve hours a day (even during services) by a large group of dedicated volunteers. Archivist and museum curator Nancy Mallett and her team have spent months coordinating and promoting this show. Their very impressive efforts were rewarded with over 400 visitors on opening day.

The exhibit runs until Friday, November 1st, from 7 am to 7 pm.  Free admission; donations welcome.

A nuptial chuppah (canopy used during Jewish marriage ceremonies); funeral pall (stitched by the Cariboo Group of women at Grace Church-on-the-Hill) and a new cope (created in Ukraine for Christ the Saviour Russian Orthodox Cathedral).

In front of the baptistry are displayed textiles used in infantile initiation rites. To the right is a traditional “elder’s outfit” to wear to a wedding in China.

A personal favourite.
Chasuble with embroidery that picks up the brocade pattern on the fabric.
From St. Thomas Anglican Church, Toronto.

Record of the Week: Do you think they served pumpkin pie?

 We are directed by the Lord Bishop of Toronto to inform you, that the Metropolitan of Canada has suggested the third Thursday in November next, viz November 16th, as a suitable day on which the members of all Christian Bodies in this and the neighbouring Provinces, might unite in offering up to the Almighty Giver of all Good, their praises and thanksgivings for the Blessings which he has bestowed upon us, and our Country, by the renewal of a bountiful Harvest, and the continuance of peace and prosperity. (Bishop Lynch fonds, L AH 22.13)

At ARCAT, we found an 1877 letter from the Anglican Diocese of Toronto to Bishop Lynch asking for his support for a day of thanksgiving in November. The campaign must not have been successful, because no days of thanksgiving are recorded as having been observed between 1872 and 1879. 

The current date of Thanksgiving was officially fixed in 1957 for the second Monday in October. The reason for the holiday is stated as "For general thanksgiving to Almighty God for the blessings with which the people of Canada have been favoured."

Prior to that, the date was proclaimed each year, and the reason for thanksgiving varied. Many years were thankful for "blessings of an abundant harvest." 

Some other thanksgivings of note:

• Thursday, January 10th, 1799: "In signal victory over our enemy and for the manifold and inestimable blessings which our Kingdoms and Provinces have recieved and daily continue to receive."
• Thursday, April 6th, 1815: "End of the war with the United States of America and resotration of the blessings of Peace."
• Wednesday, February 6th, 1833: "Cessation of cholera."
• Monday, April 15th, 1872: "For restoration to health of H.R.H. the Prince of Wales."
• Saturday, August 9th, 1902: "King's Coronation, as a day of General Thanksgiving and rejoicing."

Check here and here fore more information about our beloved autumn holiday.

Happy Thanksgiving!

Diocese of Hamilton blesses the new Bishop Farrell Library & Archives

Last Monday, the ARCAT staff had the opportunity to attend the blessing and opening of the Bishop Farrell Library & Archives in the Diocese of Hamilton. The newly renovated building is located within the diocesan complex, beside the Chancery Office and Christ the King Cathedral Basilica. It was a lovely event and the archives facilities were especially impressive.  Congratulations to the Director of Library & Archives, Dominy Williams, and to the Diocese of Hamilton!

The new library & archives on the cathedral grounds.

Bishop Farrell Library - named after the first ordinary of the diocese.

Archival storeroom with movable shelving and this fancy screen for storing wall-mounted objects.

Archival facilities include a processing room with a digitization lab,
and a transfer/holding room for new accessions.

Perched on the edge of the Niagara escarpment, the Cathedral's steeple is clearly visible when approaching the city from the east.  It was wonderful to finally go inside.

Approaching Hamilton on Hwy 403 West, the steeple is a dominant feature on the landscape.

Christ the King Cathedral Basilica, Diocese of Hamilton

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.

A Look Back at a Scarborough Landmark: St. Augustine's Seminary

The past month has seen the beginning of a year's worth of events celebrating the centenary of St. Augustine's Seminary.

While looking at some of ARCAT's old photos of the Seminary building, I was reminded that our records show not only the history of the Archdiocese, but also the history of Toronto and the other communities of which we are a part.

Take for example the following aerial shots of St. Augustine's. They illustrate how the area along Kingston Road looked before post-war development of the Cliffside neighbourhood of Scarborough occurred:

In this 1940 photo, Kingston Road is running off to the north-east in the upper left hand corner. The top of the photo shows Lake Ontario and the vicinity of the present Cathedral Bluffs Park and Scarborough Bluffs Sailing Club. The layout of the roads behind the Seminary is visible. Today, these streets are lined with houses and mature trees.

In this photo from the same year, Kingston Road is visible along the bottom with Lake Ontario at the top. The white house in the foreground is at the corner of Kingston Road and Chine Drive. It still stands today, though the front is now covered with ivy. Three houses have been built between that house and the house just out of view on the far right. Chine Drive and Kelsonia Avenue, which is parallel to Kingston Road, are now lined with houses as well.

The same corner today as shown on Google Streetview.

In this expansive photo, Kingston Road is again visible across the top. Resthaven Memorial Gardens can be seen across Kingston Road from the St. Augustine's. R.H. King Academy, which was founded as Scarborough High School in 1922 can be seen in the distance near the top centre. 

This wintry scene looks out from St. Augustine's towards Chine Drive. Kelsonia Avenue and Glenridge Road (which was known as Ardmour at the time) can also be seen.

In 2013, nobody would consider the St. Augustine's area rural, but as shown on the following 1916 map, St. Augustine's was surrounded by farmland when it was first built:

View this map on the University of Toronto Map and Data Library Website

These photos remind us that our bustling, busy city with its streets full of cars and shops and people was once fields and trees. It's easy to imagine that when the site for the seminary was chosen, the pastoral setting would have been idyllic for reflection, contemplation and study in preparation for the priesthood. The view from the windows has changed dramatically, but the will to serve the Catholics of Toronto and abroad has remained the same.

To compare the above photos with today's Cliffside, you can use Google Satellite:

View Larger Map

For a look back on 100 years of St. Augustine's check out the special feature in the Catholic Register.

The Toronto Public Library has more historic photos of Cliffside, the neighbourhood that surrounds the Seminary.

Record of the Week: Ed Sullivan at the Archbishop's Charity Dinner

Coadjutor Archbishop Pocock and Ed Sullivan receive guests at the Archbishop's Charity Dinner, 22 April 1965
Catholic Charities Accession 2012-012

This month, Catholic Charities of the Archdiocese of Toronto kicks off its centenary celebrations, A Hundred Years of Helping. To prepare for the anniversary, ARCAT helped to gather some historical photographs.  Combing through an unprocessed accession, I came across a folder of photographs of the annual Archbishop's Charity Dinner...and then asked no one in particular, "Is that Ed Sullivan?" It seems that the Catholic Charities staff were equally surprised and delighted because this photo was selected for their promotional posters.

In 1965, the dinner was thrown in honour of Coadjutor Archbishop Philip F. Pocock and it raised $7,500 for charities, most of which went to the Good Shepherd Refuge for homeless men. The Canadian Register (1 May 1965) reported:

Among the many distinguished guests at head table was TV star Ed Sullivan who had come from New York especially to attend this charity dinner...Mr. Sullivan delighted his audience by reminiscing over the past 17 years he has been on television...[His] talk included many personal glimpses of his own youth. For example, he recalled  how he used to pump an organ at 'five cents at a low Mass, ten cents at a high Mass.'  

The connection between the Archdiocese and the famous television host is not exactly clear.  The Ed Sullivan Show did broadcast from Toronto's O'Keefe Centre in April 1963.  Perhaps he made the acquaintance of local Catholic movers and shakers during that time.

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.