On a busy Bloor Street sidewalk outside a 174-year-old downtown Toronto church sits the likeness of a familiar figure wrapped in a stranger’s cloak.

TORONOTO – For Michael McGouran, attending the 100th anniversary of Toronto’s St. Monica Catholic School this month is much more than a pleasant trip down memory lane.

Toronto and Hamilton parishes are celebrating the month of October with a new exhibit on Marian apparitions from around the world.

TORONTO – The community at the Marian Shrine of Gratitude in Toronto is growing in strength and numbers despite a looming closure.

TORONTO – When Elizabeth Carrillo was five, she arrived in Canada with her mother, at the time pregnant with her son Brian. The FCJ Refugee Centre literally became the family’s home.

TORONTO – Today, millions of pilgrims from around the world travel to the Sanctuary of Our Lady of Fatima in Portugal each year to venerate the statue of the Immaculate Heart of Mary. And in a way, the statue has made its own pilgrimage around the world to meet with the faithful.

TORONTO – Young adults learned some of the rich history of the Sisters of St. Joseph and their contributions to Toronto in a dash around the city’s core Sept. 24.

There are two types of foundations that support a cathedral like St. Michael’s. There is the stone and mortar laid by dedicated workers. And there is the foundation of faith that, in the case of Toronto’s mother church, was cemented by a fledgling Catholic population that included Loretto sisters who gave their lives to help establish the Church in Upper Canada.

Renowned 19th-century novelist Robert Louis Stevenson once wrote that “mankind was never so happily inspired as when it made a cathedral.”

WASHINGTON – Emmylou Harris is making Toronto one of the stops on an 11-date concert tour in support of Jesuit Refugee Service.

GLENDALE, Ariz. – In a liturgy packed with rich symbolism and ancient tradition, the Holy Protection of Mary Byzantine Eparchy of Phoenix celebrated the enthronement of Bishop John S. Pazak as its fifth bishop.

TORONTO – When the Indy comes to town, organizers bring almost everything a race team could need — including a priest to celebrate Mass.

NEW YORK – It was hardly a typical New York City summer street fair.

Muslims and Christians came together May 20 to acknowledge their common history and ancient bonds as Toronto’s Pontifical Institute of Mediaeval Studies awarded His Highness the Aga Khan with its highest degree.

TORONTO – The war over Toronto’s peace garden ended in sunshine, spring flowers and paper cranes from Hiroshima.