History
On April 7, 1845 construction began on St. Michael's Cathedral (Toronto) and the Bishop's Palace, a three story rectory adjacent to the Neo-Gothic Cathedral. Both buildings were designed by William Thomas 1799-1860. On May 8, 1845, Bishop Michael Power laid the cornerstone for his Cathedral in the four-year-old diocese. On September 29, 1845 the Cathedral was consecrated. The Cathedral to dedicated on August 29, 1848 to St. Michael the Archangel. The seventy nine meter bell tower, which contains two bells, was consecrated in 1866.
The city had a population of 13,000 with 3,000 Catholics. Some fragments of a stone pillar from the old Norman-style York Minster Cathedral in England and some small pieces of the oak roof of that same cathedral were sealed within St. Michael's cornerstone. St. Michael's is a 19th century interpretation of the Minster's 14th century English Gothic style. The connection with York Minster is appropriate as Toronto was known as the town of York from its settlement in 1793 until it was incorporated in 1834 and the name was changed back. The sanctuary was consecrated September 29, 1848 after substantial work by the Honourable John Elmsley and his friend Samuel G. Lynn to retire the debt incurred for construction.
The cathedral played an instrumental role in the founding of nearby St. Michael's Hospital when members of the Sisters of Saint Joseph, who came to Toronto at the request of the Second Bishop of Toronto, the Most Reverend Armand-François-Marie de Charbonnel to operate an orphanage and settlement house, responded to the need for care during a diphtheria epidemic in 1892.
In 1937, the cathedral established St. Michael's Choir School to train choir boys. The school continues to be operate jointly under authority of the Pontifical Institute of Sacred Music and the Toronto Catholic District School Board.
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