TORONTO – The Archdiocese of Toronto wished Auxiliary Bishop William McGrattan a formal farewell with a mid-afternoon Mass, Friday, June 20 at St. Paul's Basilica.

TORONTO - On the journey toward one’s vocation, Fr. Christopher Lemieux hopes Catholics alter the question “what do I want to do with my life?” to “Lord, what is it you want me to do with my life?” 

TORONTO - Before marking an X on a ballot Catholic voters should pencil in a grade on a report card for candidates in the Ontario provincial election.

The archdiocese of Toronto’s $105 million fundraising drive is unprecedented in the Canadian Church. But the ambitious campaign is about much more than asking parishioners how much can they give. It’s asking them how much do they care.

Updated 10/16/14

TORONTO - With $26.5 million already pledged — including $5 million from a single donor — the Archdiocese of Toronto has officially kicked off one of the largest Church-based fundraising campaigns in Canadian history.

TORONTO - The spirit of Catholic apologist and author G.K. Chesterton will inspire debate once again in the Archdiocese of Toronto.

TORONTO - From your library to the confessional, from relics to rejoicing, the archdiocese of Toronto has lined up a year’s worth of ways to rediscover faith.

The Year of Faith kicks off inter- nationally on Oct. 11, commemorating the 50th anniversary of the opening of the Second Vatican Council. In Toronto, the year will start with a solemn opening Mass with Cardinal Thomas Collins at St. Paul’s Basilica on Oct. 14. All 223 parishes in the archdiocese are being encouraged to send representatives, particularly their RCIA catechists, youth leaders and parish council members, to the 4 p.m. Mass at the downtown basilica.

Collins will also dedicate this year of lectio divina programs to a biblical understanding of faith.

The Office of Formation for Discipleship wants to add the Catechism of the Catholic Church to your reading list. And they hope to introduce young people to the Compendium of the Social Doctrine of the Church and the YouCat youth catechism produced for World Youth Day in Madrid in 2011.

“Exploring the Catechism: Faith Alive!” is an eight-part series, and the catechism-based six-part series “Basic Teachings of the Catholic Church” will be promoted in parishes by the Office of Formation for Discipleship. A Fr. Robert Barron 10-part video series called Catholicism will also be available.

The Office of Catholic Youth will run catechetical events based on the Compendium of the Social Doctrine of the Church and YouCat.

A chance to visit with martyrs and saints will be coming to many parishes. Relics of 17th-century Jesuit martyrs from the Martyrs’ Shrine in Midland, Ont., and of St. Br. André Bessette from St. Joseph’s Oratory in Montreal, will tour the archdiocese.

On Oct. 21 seven blesseds will become saints, including Blessed Kateri Tekakwitha, the Lily of the Mohawks. The canonizations will happen in Rome. Parishes are being encouraged to organize events to celebrate Canada’s first aboriginal saint.

Penance will lead local Catholics to faith with the all-day confessions event called “Return to Me With All Your Heart.” The program will be offered in many parishes during Lent.

“The renewal of the Church is also achieved through the witness offered by the lives of believers,” Pope Benedict XVI wrote in his October 2011 announcement of the Year of Faith, Porta Fidei. “By their very existence in the world, Christians are called to radiate the word of truth that the Lord Jesus has left us.”

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TORONTO - After serving on a host of Catholic boards, including the senate of the University of St. Michael’s College, John McGrath came to the archdiocese of Toronto in 2001 to be chancellor of temporal affairs, a rough equivalent to chief financial officer. He intended to stay five years and had an opt-out clause at two-and-a-half years, just in case. He stayed 11.

Shortly after turning 70, McGrath welcomed his 20th grandchild and let it be known it was time for the archdiocese to start searching for his replacement. After a lengthy search, the changeover took effect on July 1. But retirement won’t change McGrath’s life. He will continue to serve on the boards of St. Joseph’s Hospital, Catholic Charities, the Southdown Institute, the Canadian Catholic Bioethics Institute and the Patrons of the Arts for the Vatican Museum.

CALEDON, ONT. - There’s no such thing as Catholicism for the few. Catholic means universal, and Secular Franciscans declared their intention to take their message out to the known universe as they inaugurated a new fraternity at the first ever Franciscan Family Fest at Mt. Alverno Retreat Centre June 24.

Deacon Michael Robertson is one of the founders of the new group of lay Franciscans. He describes it as “a new option to offer people who might want to take their spiritual life beyond the norm.”

TORONTO - In building upon the good work that past directors of the Office of Catholic Youth have accomplished, two new positions will be added to the archdiocese of Toronto’s youth office, said director Fr. Frank Portelli.

He’s currently on the hunt for a new associate director for youth and an associate director for young adults. The roles will target youth in Grades 6 to 12 and those aged 18 to 35, respectively.

TORONTO - The bell tower of St. Peter’s Church in downtown Toronto may be crumbing, but Angela Barbieri hopes the parish’s generosity of spirit still remains strong.

Barbieri is heading up a fundraising campaign in hopes of raising the $400,000 necessary for the repairs to the 87-year-old church. The bell tower was in such dire need of repair that the archdiocese of Toronto has loaned the church half of that amount to begin the work right away.

Scaffolding now surrounds the tower as workers have begun the repairs to the church.

The following are the clergy appointments for the archdiocese of Toronto which take place on June 27, unless otherwise noted.

TORONTO - As part of the new direction of the archdiocese of Toronto’s Office of Catholic Youth, the office won’t be organizing a trip to Rio de Janeiro for World Youth Day 2013, said director Fr. Frank Portelli.

“It was discussed at the Council of Priests and it was decided that it would be better if the parishes work on their own groups to go down so it would be more parish-based initiatives,” Portelli told The Catholic Register.

TORONTO - Three years of lay formation training was celebrated on Pentecost Sunday at a quasi-graduation ceremony for 66 people at Annunciation of the Blessed Virgin Mary Parish.

During the afternoon event, adults from 30 Archdiocese of Toronto parishes were recognized for their leadership accomplishments, dedication to the community’s faith and personal sacrifice of time.

“We (zeroed) in on basically the foundational foundations of the faith to try and help people understand what it is the Church actually teaches,” said Bill Targett, director of the office of formation who launched the project in 2009.