St. Michael's Cathedral Basilica

One of the oldest catholic churches in Toronto, St. Michael’s Cathedral is an aesthetic dream for those in the catholic community. Built in 1848, the Cathedral was designed in the most popular style of the day: Gothic Revival. Many churches built in the same time period resembled it in style, including the Notre-Dame Basilica in Montreal.

The cathedral was needed to serve the growing catholic population in the overwhelming protestant city. Most of these being the working class Irish immigrants arriving in droves to escape the hardships of the potato famine. The church was predominantly funded by the Irish Catholic community of the city.

St. Micahel’s Cathedral had a hand in creating both St. Michael’s hospital as well as St. Michael’s College of the University of Toronto. The college was initially housed in the cathedral itself until it was absorbed by the University of Toronto in 1856.

With a growing trend in many urban cities in Canada to repurposed old churches, it remains an impressive sight to behold the grand presence of the catholic faith at the corner of Church and Shuter Street. Even for those who hold no faith or interest in religion, a strong reminder is delivered to all who walk up and down the southern portion of Church Street, that the temples of Bay Street we now know to be the dominant interest of a city that has grown through business and commerce, were not always the tallest and most divine houses of Torontonian interest.

For close to 2 centuries, the growing masses of new Canadians have taken solace in the walls of our religious institutions, to assist in settlement and through community support. These temples of worship like St. Michael’s Cathedral will always reflect a symbol of the history of a growing progressive city rooted in a foundation of dogma.