Robert Kinghorn is a deacon of the Archdiocese of Toronto.


You can read his column, "The Church on the Street" in The Catholic Register.
You can contact him at robert.kinghorn@ekinghorn.com

Joseph von Führich’s 1837 painting of the disciples meeting Jesus on the road to Emmaus.

Robert Kinghorn: No one need walk alone on the road of despair

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Alleluia, alleluia give thanks to the risen Lord Alleluia, alleluia give praise to His name.

The music had barely faded from our Easter liturgy when I walked into the hospital room of a woman I had been asked to visit but had never met.

A snowy evening can have some surprising encounters.

Robert Kinghorn: Numbers can’t measure the blessings of street

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There’s a saying statisticians love to trot out when questioned on the value of their surveys. “You are what you measure.”

Church on the Street: Restaurant served big plate of humanity

Church on the Street: Restaurant served big plate of humanity

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When I started out on the Church on the Street, I gave little thought to some of the logistics of such a ministry apart from determining that it would be 8 p.m. onwards every Thursday evening.

The Church on the Street: Searching for divine power in the eyes of a stranger

The Church on the Street: Searching for divine power in the eyes of a stranger

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Some nights it does not take long for the temperature to plummet. I don’t mean the thermometer, but the temperature of the street. 

Robert Kinghorn encounters a downtrodden stranger who gives him hope in God's presence among those he meets on Toronto streets.

The Church on the Street: Reaching out a hand of hope

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It is a frigid evening, and the setting sun leaves the grip of darkness on the downtown area where hope and despair wrestle nightly for sovereignty.
Robert Kinghorn's friend shares her story of homelessness and gratitude for finally having a home this Christmas.

The Church on the street: A gift of thanks on Christmas morn

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Unless you have been homeless, as Mary and Joseph were on that first Christmas, it is difficult to understand the deep peace a roof over your head can bring.
Photo illustration of a young woman depicts the effects of human trafficking. Robert Kinghorn writes that the good news of the Church on the Street is not reported alongside the murders and the overdoses in secular newspapers.

Amid violence streets still have their moments of grace

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There are few, if any, parishes in Toronto that had three shooting deaths in the first month of the year and followed them up with two more in the next few months. Add to this an epidemic of drug overdoses and a picture of lawlessness could emerge.
A life of prostitution and drug use took its toll on “Mary” as well as people around her.

Comment: Meet 'Mary' ... my friend

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The request was simple: “I’m going south for a week, could you give me a ride to the airport and pick me up on my way back?”

From left, Sr. Caritas, Tracey Ferguson, Deacon Robert Kinghorn and Sr. Immolatia, who came to Canada to plant a new missionary seed in the Hamilton diocese.

Comment: Brazil's Sr. Immolatia comes a long way to plant a missionary seed

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I call them the confessions of Sr. Immolatia. They are the words of a vibrant, spirit-led past parishioner of the Church on the Street.

While love can conquer fear, fear can drive out perfect love

While love can conquer fear, fear can drive out perfect love

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We are often rudely awakened to our insufficient response to the voice of need.

Harriet’s spirit wins out in the long run

Harriet’s spirit wins out in the long run

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The brutality of life on the streets could not defeat this ‘I used to be famous’ woman

There are evenings when I am walking the streets that deep theological insights come abruptly to my mind. This was one such evening.

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