St. Augustine's Seminary is the archdiocesan

seminary A seminary, school of theology, theological seminary, or divinity school is an educational institution for educating students (sometimes called ''seminarians'') in scripture, theology, generally to prepare them for ordination to serve as clergy ...

of the

Roman Catholic Roman or Romans most often refers to: *Rome, the capital city of Italy * Ancient Rome, Roman civilization from 8th century BC to 5th century AD * Roman people, the people of ancient Rome *'' Epistle to the Romans'', shortened to ''Romans'', a let ...

Archdiocese of Toronto The Archdiocese of Toronto ( la, Archidioecesis Torontina) is a Roman Catholic archdiocese that includes part of the Province of Ontario. Its archbishop is also the ecclesiastical provincial for the dioceses of Hamilton, London, Saint Catharines ...

, and is located by the shore of

Lake Ontario Lake Ontario is one of the five Great Lakes of North America. It is bounded on the north, west, and southwest by the Canadian province of Ontario, and on the south and east by the U.S. state of New York. The Canada–United States border ...

Scarborough Scarborough or Scarboro may refer to: People * Scarborough (surname) * Earl of Scarbrough Places Australia * Scarborough, Western Australia, suburb of Perth * Scarborough, New South Wales, suburb of Wollongong * Scarborough, Queensland, su ...

. It is a member of the Toronto School of Theology.

History

St. Augustine's Seminary was established in 1913 to train

diocesan priests In Christianity, the term secular clergy refers to deacons and priests who are not monastics or otherwise members of religious life. A secular priest (sometimes known as a diocesan priest) is a priest who commits themselves to a certain geogr ...

. The land on which the Seminary was built was previously that of farmer and Anglican Adna Pherrill (1816-1892). Its construction was funded entirely by

Eugene O'Keefe Eugene O'Keefe (10 December 1827 – 1 October 1913), baptized as Owen Keeffe, was an Irish-born Canadian businessman and philanthropist, well-known in the brewing industry for his signature brews. He incorporated the O'Keefe Brewery Company ...

, a wealthy Toronto brewer and philanthropist who died months before its completion. The

Beaux-Arts architecture Beaux-Arts architecture ( , ) was the academic architectural style taught at the École des Beaux-Arts in Paris, particularly from the 1830s to the end of the 19th century. It drew upon the principles of French neoclassicism, but also incorp ...

structure is topped off with a copper clad dome. The architect was Arthur W. Holmes who designed numerous buildings in Toronto, such as St. Patrick's Church, Holy Name Church as well as St. Michael's College, part of the University of Toronto. He modelled the college chapel on the refectory of

Queen's College, Oxford The Queen's College is a constituent college of the University of Oxford, England. The college was founded in 1341 by Robert de Eglesfield in honour of Philippa of Hainault. It is distinguished by its predominantly neoclassical architecture, ...

. In 1969 the Toronto School of Theology was created as an independent federation of 7 schools of theology, including the divinity faculties of St. Augustine's Seminary. Within its own federation,

University of Toronto The University of Toronto (UToronto or U of T) is a public university, public research university in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, located on the grounds that surround Queen's Park (Toronto), Queen's Park. It was founded by royal charter in 1827 ...

granted all but theology or divinity degrees. Since 1978, by virtue of a change made in its charter, the university has granted theology degrees conjointly with St. Augustine's Seminary and other Toronto School of Theology member institutions.">"University of Toronto"
''The Canadian Encyclopedia''. A nearby building that had housed classes but had fallen into disuse has been rented by

St. John Henry Newman Catholic High School St. John Henry Newman Catholic High School (also known as SJHNCHS, St. John Henry Newman CHS, St. John Henry Newman, colloquially referred to as Newman) is a Roman Catholic high school in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. It was formerly known under its ...

, since the high school's inception in 1973. Architects Bogdan Newman Caranci Inc. were responsible for performing an assessment of the building's condition, which was followed by a restoration project.

Mission

St. Augustine's Seminary is the Major Seminary of the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Toronto. It also welcomes candidates from elsewhere. Although the main goal is the preparation of candidates for ordained priesthood in the

Catholic Church The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.3 billion baptized Catholics worldwide . It is among the world's oldest and largest international institutions, and has played a ...

the seminary also prepares men and women aspiring to other ministries in the Church.

Programs

St. Augustine Seminary and Institute of Theology offer the following programs which combine spiritual formation, theological education and field training: * Pontifical Baccalaureate of Sacred Theology (STB) and Master of Divinity (M.Div.) * Master of Theological Studies (MTS) * Master of Religious Education (MRE) * Diploma programs in Theological Studies and Diploma in Lay Ministry * Philosophy program

Residence

St. Augustine Seminary provides residence for candidates to the priesthood. Other students live in off-campus housing.

Burial Grounds

A list of notables buried at St. Augustine: * Fergus Patrick McEvay,

Archbishop of Toronto The Archdiocese of Toronto ( la, Archidioecesis Torontina) is a Roman Catholic archdiocese that includes part of the Province of Ontario. Its archbishop is also the ecclesiastical provincial for the dioceses of Hamilton, London, Saint Catharin ...

Neil McNeil Neil McNeil (November 23, 1851 – May 25, 1934) was the Roman Catholic Archbishop of Vancouver from 1910 to 1912 and Roman Catholic Archbishop of Toronto from 1912 to 1934. Early life McNeil was born in Hillsborough, Inverness County, Nov ...

James Charles McGuigan James Charles McGuigan (November 26, 1894 – April 8, 1974) was a Canadian prelate of the Catholic Church. He was the longest-serving Archbishop of Toronto, serving for almost 37 years from 1934 to 1971. He became the first English-speaking ...

* John Edward McCarthy, S.F.M

References

External links

St. Augustine's Seminary
{{DEFAULTSORT:Saint Augustine's Seminary Educational institutions established in 1913 Catholic seminaries Catholic Church in Ontario Seminaries and theological colleges in Canada Universities and colleges in Toronto Education in Scarborough, Toronto Burials at St. Augustine's Seminary Beaux-Arts architecture in Canada 1913 establishments in Ontario