Hundreds of the faithful filled St. Peter’s Church in Toronto Sept. 16 to celebrate 100 years of Paulist ministry in Canada.

Cardinal Thomas C. Collins of Toronto was the main celebrant and homilist for the Mass that was enhanced by various vocalists, musicians and the parish’s Filipino choir.

“We are here for a celebration of thanksgiving for 100 years Paulist ministry in Canada,” Cardinal Collins said during the homily. “The Paulists have been welcoming people here to be forgiven of their sins, to meet the Lord himself, and to be given our mission to go out and share Christ’s light – his gift to us – with the people we encounter.”

Joining the cardinal on the altar for the Mass were four Paulists: Paulist President Father Michael B. McGarry; Father Richard Colgan, CSP, a former pastor of St. Peter’s; and St. Peter’s two associate pastors, Father Tom Gibbons, CSP, and Father John Duffy, CSP.

“This is a very poignant moment in the history of this parish and the history of the Paulist Fathers,” said Father McGarry. “This is a wonderful occasion to celebrate a bright and vibrant community of faith in Toronto that has much to be grateful for and to look forward to.”

The Filipino Choir at St. Peter’s Church in Toronto gathers to sing during the Mass celebrating 100 years of Paulist service in Canada Sept. 15.

The original Paulists – Father Isaac Hecker, Father Augustine Hewit, Father George Deshon and Father Francis Baker – first came to Canada to lead a series of missions in Quebec. The year was 1859, one year after the Paulist Fathers were founded.

A few years later, Archbishop Neil McNeil, the fifth Archbishop of Toronto, invited the Paulists to direct the Newman Hall at the University of Toronto, where the Paulists served from 1913-36. In 1914, the Paulists were asked to take over the pastoral ministry of St Peter’s Parish located at Bathurst and Bloor streets.

In order to enhance the Paulist work of welcoming people in to the Catholic faith, Father Francis W. Stone, CSP, asked to be given the ministry of the “convert classes” full time in 1946, and welcomed 100 people into the Church within a year. The Catholic Information Center moved from the basement of the church to its present location adjacent to St. Peter’s in 1956, and was renamed the Paulist Ministry Centre for Catholic Evangelization in 1998.

Today, the center offers programs for the religious education and formation of adults. In addition to the Rite of Christian Initiation for Adults, the center offers classes such as, “Saints as Life Coaches” and “The Catholic Faith: A Short Course for Adults” as well as a Christian meditation group. There has also been a “tremendous response” to the regional counseling program housed at the center.

Hundreds of parishioners and friends gathered at St. Peter’s Church in Toronto Sept. 15 to celebrate the 100th anniversary of the Paulists coming to Canada.

St. Peter’s is a microcosm of Toronto itself, an international city of vast ethnic diversity. That diversity is seen not only at Mass but in the very traditions that bind parishioners of all ethnicities. One of those traditions is the annual Fall Fair, to be held this year on Oct. 6-7. Not only can participants find hidden treasures among the donated items for sale, but they can also get a taste of the community’s diversity from eggplant lasagna to Filipino spring rolls.

And returning soon will be the Winter Welcome Table, which provides a hot meal each Monday evening from November through March for the homeless or those who live alone. The weekly dinner is a joint ministry with the Atonement Fathers and Sisters of Zion at nearby St. Joan of Arc Parish that often serves up to 100 guests. Different groups in the parishes take turns donating the food and volunteering to cook what usually is a three-course meal.

A new outreach program this summer was “Courtyard Movies at St. Peter’s,” that included an outdoor screening of popular movies and free popcorn. The outreach was to attract the young adults and young families that are moving near St. Peter’s and changing the texture of the Annex neighborhood.

“It worked,” said John Bertolo, a Paulist Associate and parish council member. “People now know that we are St. Peter’s and we are here. Paulist ministry in Toronto has evolved, and now the Paulists are in the position to do true evangelization.”

The recessional procession Sept. 15 at St. Peter’s Church in Toronto, where Cardinal Thomas C. Collins of Toronto presided over the Mass celebrating 100 years of the Paulists in Canada.

As St. Peter’s celebrates 100 years of Paulist service in Toronto, it is natural to wonder what the future will bring. One thing is certain: the next century of the Paulists in Canada will kick off by welcoming Father Tim Sullivan, CSP, as the new pastor at St. Peter’s. Father Sullivan will officially take up his new post on the weekend of Sept. 21-22, and comes to Toronto from serving as pastor of St. Patrick Church in Memphis, Tenn.

“I am honored to begin my service as Pastor of St. Peter’s in Toronto,” Father Sullivan said. “As the parish celebrates its 100th anniversary this year, I give thanks to God for the wonderful history at the parish and for the faithful commitment on the part of the parishioners, staff, and priests who have worked so hard to make St. Peter’s the dynamic, vibrant, and Christ-centered church that it has been and continues to be.”

And a second thing that is certain: the love of the people for the Paulists in Toronto.

“I was away from the Church for a while and don’t know if I would have stayed if it weren’t for the welcome and acceptance I found here,” said Rita Shaughenesy, a St. Peter’s parishioner of more than 40 years. “I can’t imagine St. Peter’s without the Paulists.”

Cardinal Thomas C. Collins of Toronto preaches the homily at the Mass celebrating 100 years of Paulist presence in Canada.