Important Week

This has been an important week in the archdiocese of Toronto! Wednesday we learned that the Cathedral - originally scheduled to be closed next spring / summer has been closed this week - because of saftey concerns during the current renovations.

St. Michael’s Cathedral, mother church of the Archdiocese of Toronto, is temporarily closing its doors as part of its extensive restoration efforts. Since the mid-1800s, local and global pilgrims have visited St. Michael’s Cathedral and work has been underway for the past three years to restore the historic church, one of Toronto’s greatest landmarks and home parish of Cardinal Thomas Collins. Until this point in the restoration, the cathedral has remained open for Mass each weekend and special celebrations. However, the next phase of restoration will require its closure full-time to allow for work that will preserve the cathedral for years to come.  A timeline has been forecast as follows:

• June 17, 2015 – mid-December 2015 - full closure of St. Michael’s Cathedral.
• Mid-December 2015 – January 2016 - cathedral will open around Christmas.
• January 2016 – March 2016 - full closure of St. Michael’s Cathedral again.
• March 2016 – September 2016 - cathedral will open prior to Holy Week and Easter, remaining open while work continues through September 2016.
• September 29, 2016 - goal to complete this phase of restoration. This date is also the Feast of St. Michael, patron saint of the Archdiocese of Toronto.

The other big news this week is the much anticipated release of an Encyclical by Pope Francis on the environment: 

Laudato Si’ - "Praised Be"

Here is a power video on our call to care for creation - It was published by Salt and Light before Pope Francis was elected. (In a sense this shows how much Pope Francis' Encyclical is the fruit of comments by both John Paul II and Benedict XVI)