St. Thomas Aquinas Church or Newman Chapel is a

Roman 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 lette ...

Catholic 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 ...

church Church may refer to: Religion * Church (building), a building for Christian religious activities * Church (congregation), a local congregation of a Christian denomination * Church service, a formalized period of Christian communal worship * C ...

within the St. George campus of the

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 ...

Toronto Toronto ( ; or ) is the capital city of the Canadian province of Ontario. With a recorded population of 2,794,356 in 2021, it is the most populous city in Canada and the fourth most populous city in North America. The city is the anch ...

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, Canada. It was built in 1926-1927 as a chapel for the

Newman Centre Newman Centers, Newman Houses, Newman Clubs, or Newman Communities are Catholic campus ministry centers at secular universities. The movement was inspired by the writings of Cardinal John Henry Newman encouraging societies for Catholic stude ...

next door. In 1995, it became a quasi-parish church. It is situated on the corner of Hoskin Avenue and St. George Street in Toronto, next to

Massey College Massey College is a graduate residential college at the University of Toronto that was established, built and partially endowed in 1962 by the Massey Foundation and officially opened in 1963, though women were not admitted until 1974. It was mo ...

History

Origin

Before the site was a church, it was a

coach house Coach may refer to: Guidance/instruction * Coach (sport), a director of athletes' training and activities * Coaching, the practice of guiding an individual through a process ** Acting coach, a teacher who trains performers Transportation * Coa ...

attached to the home of Wilmot Deloui Matthews. He was a businessman, owner of W. D. Matthews and one-time president of the Toronto Board of Trade. He built the house from 1890 to 1891. He died in 1919 and the whole site was purchased by the Newman Club in 1922. At first, before the church was built,

Mass Mass is an intrinsic property of a body. It was traditionally believed to be related to the quantity of matter in a physical body, until the discovery of the atom and particle physics. It was found that different atoms and different eleme ...

was held in the Oak Room of the house next door.Our History
from Newman Centre, Toronto, retrieved 28 May 2014 As the size of the congregation increased, it was realised that a larger space for Mass was required. Plans were drawn up to replace the coach house with a chapel. To make the most of the available space, the chapel was designed to be rectangular and perpendicular to the street.

Construction

The

Gothic Revival style Gothic Revival (also referred to as Victorian Gothic, neo-Gothic, or Gothick) is an architectural movement that began in the late 1740s in England. The movement gained momentum and expanded in the first half of the 19th century, as increasingly ...

structure was built from 1926 to 1927. After it was finished it was blessed by the

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. On 27 March 1927, he dedicated the chapel to

St. Thomas Aquinas Thomas Aquinas, OP (; it, Tommaso d'Aquino, lit=Thomas of Aquino; 1225 – 7 March 1274) was an Italian Dominican friar and priest who was an influential philosopher, theologian and jurist in the tradition of scholasticism; he is known ...

. Because of its connection to the Newman Centre, it was known by students on campus as the Newman Chapel. From 1913 to 1936, the Newman Centre and chapel were served by the

Paulist Fathers The Paulist Fathers, officially named the Missionary Society of Saint Paul the Apostle ( la, Societas Sacerdotum Missionariorum a Sancto Paulo Apostolo), abbreviated CSP, is a Catholic society of apostolic life of Pontifical Right for men founded ...

at St. Peter's Church, Toronto. Over time, renovations were made to the church. It was altered after the

Second Vatican Council The Second Ecumenical Council of the Vatican, commonly known as the , or , was the 21st ecumenical council of the Roman Catholic Church. The council met in St. Peter's Basilica in Rome for four periods (or sessions), each lasting between 8 and ...

to conform to the promulgated liturgical changes. In 1973, it was added to the Toronto Historical Board's inventory of historical buildings by the

Ontario Heritage Trust The Ontario Heritage Trust (french: link=no, Fiducie du patrimoine ontarien) is a non-profit agency of the Ontario Ministry of Tourism and Culture. It is responsible for protecting, preserving and promoting the built, natural and cultural herita ...

. In 1995, the

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 ...

designated the chapel a quasi-parish church. From 1999 to 2000, a renovation was undertaken to install windows depicting prominent 20th-century Christians. In 2014, the roof was renovated. It was the first time it had been replaced in 88 years.

Interior

The church was built using Credit Valley and Indiana limestone. The roof is supported by arch-braced trusses and beams made of dark stained British Columbia fir. It originally featured two windows near the entrance depicting the patrons of the church,

Thomas Aquinas Thomas Aquinas, OP (; it, Tommaso d'Aquino, lit=Thomas of Aquino; 1225 – 7 March 1274) was an Italian Dominican friar and priest who was an influential philosopher, theologian and jurist in the tradition of scholasticism; he is known wit ...

and

John Henry Newman John Henry Newman (21 February 1801 – 11 August 1890) was an English theologian, academic, intellectual, philosopher, polymath, historian, writer, scholar and poet, first as an Anglican ministry, Anglican priest and later as a Catholi ...

. The windows installed in the west wall of the church in 2000 show

Pope John XXIII Pope John XXIII ( la, Ioannes XXIII; it, Giovanni XXIII; born Angelo Giuseppe Roncalli, ; 25 November 18813 June 1963) was head of the Catholic Church and sovereign of the Vatican City State from 28 October 1958 until his death in June 19 ...

Kateri Tekakwitha Kateri Tekakwitha ( in Mohawk), given the name Tekakwitha, baptized as Catherine and informally known as Lily of the Mohawks (1656 – April 17, 1680), is a Catholic saint and virgin who was an Algonquin–Mohawk. Born in the Mohawk village of ...

Jerzy Popiełuszko Jerzy Popiełuszko ( born Alfons Popiełuszko; 14 September 1947–19 October 1984) was a Polish Roman Catholic priest who became associated with the opposition Solidarity trade union in communist Poland. He was murdered in 1984 by three ag ...

Georges Vanier Georges-Philias Vanier (23 April 1888 – 5 March 1967) was a Canadian military officer and diplomat who served as governor general of Canada, the first Quebecer and second Canadian-born person to hold the position. Vanier was born and ...

, Pauline Vanier,

Gianna Beretta Molla Gianna Beretta Molla (4 October 1922 – 28 April 1962) was an Italian Roman Catholic pediatrician. Although aware of the fatal consequences, Molla refused both a termination of pregnancy and a hysterectomy during her pregnancy with her fou ...

, Franz Jägerstätter,

Mother Teresa Mary Teresa Bojaxhiu, MC (; 26 August 1910 – 5 September 1997), better known as Mother Teresa ( sq, Nënë Tereza), was an Indian-Albanian Catholic nun who, in 1950, founded the Missionaries of Charity. Anjezë Gonxhe Bojaxhiu () was ...

Edith Stein Edith Stein (religious name Saint Teresia Benedicta a Cruce ; also known as Saint Teresa Benedicta of the Cross or Saint Edith Stein; 12 October 1891 – 9 August 1942) was a German Jewish philosopher who converted to Christianity and became a ...

Thérèse of Lisieux Thérèse of Lisieux (french: Thérèse de Lisieux ), born Marie Françoise-Thérèse Martin (2 January 1873 – 30 September 1897), also known as Saint Therese of the Child Jesus and the Holy Face (), was a French Catholic Discalced Carmelit ...

Óscar Romero Óscar Arnulfo Romero y Galdámez (15 August 1917 – 24 March 1980) was a prelate of the Catholic Church in El Salvador. He served as Auxiliary Bishop of the Archdiocese of San Salvador, the Titular Bishop of Tambeae, as Bishop of Santiago ...

Pier Giorgio Frassati Pier Giorgio Frassati (6 April 1901 – 4 July 1925) was an Italian Catholic activist and a member from the Third Order of Saint Dominic. He was dedicated to social justice issues and joined several charitable organizations, including Catholic Ac ...

and

André Bessette André Bessette, C.S.C. (9 August 1845 – 6 January 1937), more commonly known as Brother André (french: Frère André), and since his canonization as Saint André of Montreal, was a lay brother of the Congregation of Holy Cross and a signifi ...

Parish

The parish has two Sunday Masses every week, at 11:00am and at 7:00pm. It also holds daily Mass at 12:15pm from Monday to Friday and 9:30am Saturday. Confessions are available before all Masses.Parishes
from

, retrieved 28 May 2014

Music

The church also has two music ministries; one for the 11:00 AM and another for the 7:00 PM Masses. The music ministry for the 11:00 AM Mass which is led by Christina Labriola, plays in a traditional style with SATB choir and piano, playing music from GIA's ''Gather Hymnal''. The 7:00 PM music ministry, led by Charles Min, plays in a contemporary style, influenced by pop, rock, folk, and musical theatre genres. They primarily use material from Christian Contemporary Music artists, and also use the ''Gather Hymnal''. Their music ministry consists of a full rhythm section, violin, multiple cantors, and choir.

Stained glass windows

File:St. Thomas Aquinas Church stained glass windows of Pope John XXIII, Kateri Tekakwitha, Jerzy Popiełuszko, Toronto.JPG, Stained glass west window depicting

and

File:St. Thomas Aquinas Church stained glass windows of the Vaniers, Gianna Beretta Molla, Franz Jägerstätter, Toronto.JPG, Stained glass west window depicting Pauline and

and Franz Jägerstätter File:St. Thomas Aquinas Church stained glass windows of Mother Teresa, Edith Stein, Thérèse of Lisieux, Toronto.JPG, Stained glass west window depicting

and

File:St. Thomas Aquinas Church stained glass windows of Óscar Romero, Pier Giorgio Frassati and André Bessette, Toronto.JPG, Stained glass west window depicting

and

References

External links

Newman Centre Catholic Mission site
{{DEFAULTSORT:Saint Thomas Aquinas Church, Toronto Roman Catholic churches in Toronto 20th-century Roman Catholic church buildings in Canada Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Toronto Gothic Revival architecture in Toronto Gothic Revival church buildings in Canada Roman Catholic churches completed in 1927 University of Toronto buildings