Toronto, Archdiocese of

TORONTO, ARCHDIOCESE of. — Archdiocese and city in the province of Ontario (Canada).

The ecclesiastical province comprises the dioceses of T., Hamilton, and London. In the archdiocese, which covers an area of 6,300 square miles and has a population of 1,626,107 inhabitants, of whom 260,000 are Catholics, there are 150 diocesan priests, 240 religious belonging to 13 different congregations, 5 seminaries, 5 classical colleges, 119 churches with a resident priest, and 40 missions; in addition, there are 69 women’s religious communities. At the time of its erection, the diocese of T. covered all of Upper Canada west of the district of Newcastle. The first missionary was the Recollect Giuseppe Le Caron, who celebrated Mass at Georgian Bay in 1615. Thus began the missions among the Hurons, made famous by the heroism of the Recollect and Jesuit fathers.

On 17 December 1841, the diocese of Kingston (Ontario) was divided, and Fr. Michele Power, appointed bishop for the western portion separated from Kingston, chose T. as his episcopal see. During the episcopate of Bishop A. F. Marie, T. was divided in 1856 to form the dioceses of Hamilton and London, both in the province of Ontario. On 18 March 1870, Bishop G. G. Lynch, Lazarist, bishop of T., was appointed archbishop, and on 18 February 1946 T. received its first cardinal in the person of G. C. McGuigan. Within the boundaries of the archdiocese is situated the shrine of the Canadian Jesuit martyrs at Midland, Ontario.

INSTITUTIONS. —

428. The State University

Founded in 1843, it is particularly renowned for its faculty of medicine, supported by substantial donations (Rockefeller, etc.), which has modern laboratories for biochemical research (it was responsible, for example, for the discovery of insulin). The faculty of arts consists of four Colleges, each with its own teaching staff: a) University College, non-denominational; b) Victoria College (1841), Methodist, with a faculty of theology; c) Trinity College (1851), Anglican, with a faculty of theology; d) St. Michael's College, Catholic, founded in 1852 by Bishop Armand F. M. de Charbonnel and entrusted to the Basilian Fathers, federated with the University in 1910.

429. The Institute of Medieval Studies

An institute of advanced studies, founded, at the suggestion of Prof. Etienne Gilson, in 1929 by the Basilian Fathers at their St. Michael's College. Its purpose is the study of medieval philosophy and civilization in all their aspects and according to a rigorously scientific method. On the tenth anniversary of its establishment, it received canonical erection with the title of « Pontifical » and the faculty to confer the academic degrees of licentiate and doctorate (decree of the S. Congr. Sem. e Univ. degli studi, 18 Oct. 1939). The Statutes, brought into conformity with Deus scientiarum Dominus (v.), were approved by the same Congregation by decree of 26 Dec. 1940. Thus the Pontifical Institute of Mediaeval studies, which has six sections (theology, philosophy, history of canon law, history of Christian worship, medieval history and archaeology, Latin and vernacular literature), confers a new type of degree: « In studi mediae aetatis ». The courses in philosophy, history, and literature are recognized by the State University for the purpose of obtaining there the degrees of « Master of Arts » (M. A.) and « Doctor of Philosophy » (Ph. D.). It admits lay students, at least in the arts, and ecclesiastics; the latter must already have completed the four-year course in theology. The archbishop of T. is its grand chancellor. From the beginning, its studies have been directed by Prof. Gilson. The Institute enjoys a well-deserved reputation for the impetus it has given to the recognition and dissemination of Catholic culture (cf. Pius XII, epist. Haud parva, 30 May 1947, in Mediaeval Studies, 9 [1947], beginning). Since 1939 it has published the annual volume Mediaeval Studies, which may be regarded as its journal.

430. The Seminaries

The diocesan major seminary (1913), enlarged in 1926 by the addition of the new building « Kehoe Hall », also receives students from other dioceses, especially Kingston, Hamilton, and Peterborough, whose bishops sit on the governing board. St. Francis Xavier Seminary (at Scarboro Bluffs), whose students attend the courses of study at the diocesan seminary. Founded in 1918 and entrusted to « The Scarboro Foreign Mission Society », it is the only institution in Canada to receive English-speaking young men destined for the missions, especially those of China and Japan; it also provides priests for the Dominican Republic. Institutions reserved for the formation of the regular clergy: Jesuit Seminary and St. Basil's Seminary, both with their own teaching staff.