Our Lady of Lourdes is a

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, Canada. It was founded in 1879 and served by the

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. Since 1969 it has been administered by the

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on behalf of the

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. It is located at 520 Sherbourne Street in

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. It was designed by Frederick Charles Law who modelled the church on the

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. In 1986, it was given a centennial plaque by

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.Church of Our Lady of Lourdes
from Torontoplaques.com, retrieved 8 August 2018

History

Foundation

The church was founded in 1879. During that time the area was known as St. John’s Grove and was the site of the Archbishop of Toronto’s summer residence. In 1885, on the 25th anniversary of the

episcopal ordination Consecration is the solemn dedication to a special purpose or service. The word ''consecration'' literally means "association with the sacred". Persons, places, or things can be consecrated, and the term is used in various ways by different grou ...

John Joseph Lynch John Joseph Lynch (6 February 1816 – 12 May 1888) was an Irish prelate of the Catholic Church. A member of the Congregation of the Mission, he served as the third Bishop (1860-1870) and first List of Roman Catholic archbishops of Toronto, ...

, the

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, the clergy of the

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created a church next to the summer residence as a gift to the archbishop.Church of Our Lady of Lourdes
from

, retrieved 8 August 2018

Construction

The church was designed by Frederick Charles Law and he built it in the

Romanesque revival Romanesque Revival (or Neo-Romanesque) is a style of building employed beginning in the mid-19th century inspired by the 11th- and 12th-century Romanesque architecture. Unlike the historic Romanesque style, Romanesque Revival buildings tended to ...

architectural style. He drew inspiration for the church's design on the

in Rome. Part of the summer residence of the archbishop still exists as it forms part of the church's parish hall. On 28 October 1886 the church was opened. In 1910, alterations were made to the church. The nave was added and the church of the summer residence became the

sanctuary A sanctuary, in its original meaning, is a sacred place, such as a shrine. By the use of such places as a haven, by extension the term has come to be used for any place of safety. This secondary use can be categorized into human sanctuary, a saf ...

of Our Lady of Lourdes' Church.

Development

Over time the area changed dramatically and became a united, diversified, and a multicultural community in the Toronto Centre District. The biggest change was the creation of the St. James Town Community Projects. The church was originally affiliated with the

, but, in part because these changes, the church was handed over to the

Jesuits The Society of Jesus ( la, Societas Iesu; abbreviation: SJ), also known as the Jesuits (; la, Iesuitæ), is a religious order (Catholic), religious order of clerics regular of pontifical right for men in the Catholic Church headquartered in Rom ...

in 1969.Parishes
from Jesuits.ca, retrieved 8 August 2018

Parish

St. James Town is mostly populated by immigrants, foreign workers, international students, and tourists from different countries with various traditions and cultures and these groups form the majority of the parishioners who are from all walks of life. The church also hosts the local chapter of

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and celebrates Healing Mass every third Saturday of each month for the sick with cancer, autoimmune diseases, HIV, AIDS, and other illnesses. The ministry and hospitality welcome everyone regardless of race, nationality, creed, gender, age, sexual orientation, social-economic status, and others, as per the Human Rights Code of Canada. In this way, the church community strive to live out their Christian commitment and values in building the City of God for world peace, love, humility, compassion, social justice, hope, unity, and faith in God. The church has seven Sunday Masses at 5:15pm on Saturday and at 8:30am, 10:00am, 11:30am, 1:00pm, 5:00pm (in

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) and at 7:00pm on Sunday.

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Toronto, Our Lady Of Lourdes Roman Catholic Church Roman Catholic churches in Toronto Jesuit churches in Canada Roman Catholic churches completed in 1879 19th-century Roman Catholic church buildings in Canada Religious organizations established in 1884 Roman Catholic churches in Ontario Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Toronto Neoclassical church buildings in Canada