St. Paul's Basilica is the oldest

Roman Catholic The Catholic Church (), also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.27 to 1.41 billion baptized Catholics worldwide as of 2025. It is among the world's oldest and largest international institut ...

congregation in

Toronto Toronto ( , locally pronounced or ) is the List of the largest municipalities in Canada by population, most populous city in Canada. It is the capital city of the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian province of Ontario. With a p ...

Ontario Ontario is the southernmost Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Canada. Located in Central Canada, Ontario is the Population of Canada by province and territory, country's most populous province. As of the 2021 Canadian census, it ...

, Canada. It is located at 83 Power Street in the Corktown neighbourhood, just east of downtown, near the intersection of Queen and Parliament streets.

History

The parish was established in 1822 by James Baby, when the Town of York was part of the Diocese of Kingston, and it was the only Roman Catholic parish between Kingston and Windsor. The original church building was completed on the current site in 1824. It was constructed of red brick in the

Gothic Revival Gothic Revival (also referred to as Victorian Gothic or neo-Gothic) is an Architectural style, architectural movement that after a gradual build-up beginning in the second half of the 17th century became a widespread movement in the first half ...

style. To serve the expanding Irish immigrant community, a school opened soon after the church. When the Diocese of Toronto was separated from the Diocese of Kingston in 1842, St. Paul's served as the

pro-cathedral A pro-cathedral or procathedral is a parish Church (building), church that temporarily serves as the cathedral or co-cathedral of a diocese, or a church that has the same function in a Catholic missionary jurisdiction (such as an apostolic prefect ...

until St. Michael's Cathedral was completed in 1848. The church is housed in a

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 t ...

structure that was designed by Joseph Connolly and opened in 1889. It is based on the design of the

Basilica of Saint Paul Outside the Walls The Papal Basilica of Saint Paul Outside the Walls (, ) is one of Rome's four major papal basilicas, along with the basilicas of Saint John in the Lateran, Saint Peter's, and Saint Mary Major, as well as one of the city’s Seven Pilgrim Ch ...

Rome Rome (Italian language, Italian and , ) is the capital city and most populated (municipality) of Italy. It is also the administrative centre of the Lazio Regions of Italy, region and of the Metropolitan City of Rome. A special named with 2, ...

. The new building was necessary to house the growing congregation. Inside this church, located in the north transept, a stained-glass window depicts St. Paul holding a sword – with dedication to William Joseph O'Connor, a professional oarsman who grew up in the neighbourhood where the church is located. The

Italianate The Italianate style was a distinct 19th-century phase in the history of Classical architecture. Like Palladianism and Neoclassicism, the Italianate style combined its inspiration from the models and architectural vocabulary of 16th-century It ...

''campanile'' (

bell tower A bell tower is a tower that contains one or more bells, or that is designed to hold bells even if it has none. Such a tower commonly serves as part of a Christian church, and will contain church bells, but there are also many secular bell to ...

) was built in 1905 and contains the bell from the original church. The first Catholic cemetery in Toronto opened east of the church in 1822. The large increase in the Catholic population caused by Irish immigration quickly filled the cemetery to capacity, and it was replaced by St. Michael's Cemetery in 1857. The site of the old cemetery is now the parking lot and playground area for St. Paul's Catholic School. The church was designated a

minor basilica Basilicas are Catholic church buildings that have a designation, conferring special privileges, given by the Pope. Basilicas are distinguished for ceremonial purposes from other churches. The building need not be a basilica in the architectura ...

Pope John Paul II Pope John Paul II (born Karol Józef Wojtyła; 18 May 19202 April 2005) was head of the Catholic Church and sovereign of the Vatican City State from 16 October 1978 until Death and funeral of Pope John Paul II, his death in 2005. In his you ...

in 1999.

Plaque

In popular culture

In ''

Short Circuit 2 ''Short Circuit 2'' is a 1988 American science fiction comedy film, the sequel to the 1986 film ''Short Circuit''. It was directed by Kenneth Johnson and starred Fisher Stevens as Ben Jahrvi, Michael McKean as Fred Ritter, Cynthia Gibb as Sand ...

'', Johnny Five went into a church, which is renamed as St Katherine's Church. It is also featured in an episode of the show '' Suits''.

References

External links

Official website

St. Paul's Basilica Parish
*
Corktown history
{{DEFAULTSORT:Saint Pauls Basilica Roman Catholic churches in Toronto Roman Catholic churches in Ontario

Paul Paul may refer to: People * Paul (given name), a given name, including a list of people * Paul (surname), a list of people * Paul the Apostle, an apostle who wrote many of the books of the New Testament * Ray Hildebrand, half of the singing duo ...

Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Toronto Renaissance Revival architecture in Canada 1822 establishments in Canada

History

Plaque

In popular culture

See also

References

Further reading

External links