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5 6 OUR STEWARDSHIP CONTINUES... Toronto’s oldest Roman Catholic Church, St. Michael’s Cathedral, was designed by architect William Thomas in the Gothic Revival style. As the mother Church of the Archdiocese of Toronto, St. Michael’s Cathedral is undergoing significant restoration to maintain its beauty, accessibility and prominence, both externally and internally as the spiritual centre of Canada’s largest family of faith. In the early 1840s, Bishop Michael Power used his own savings and penny collections from the Irish Catholic community to purchase the plot of land for St. Michael’s Cathedral. Construction began in 1845 to prepare the foundation with both Catholics and Protestants working side by side for one week excavating 95,000 cubic feet of earth by hand. Today, as part of a larger renewal Master Plan, the project includes the stone and masonry conservation of the exterior façade and the 275-foot tower. To match the original materials, replacement brick was imported from England. The original features including pinnacles, finials, and flying buttresses were re-created to restore the spire and tower to their original appearance. Significantstructuraldeteriorationofthetowerwas addressed with the concealed use of reinforced concrete and stainless steel anchoring systems. In 2013, St. Michael’s Cathedral won the Heritage Toronto Awards Honourable Mention in the William Greer Architectural Conservation and Craftsmanship category. This category honours owners who have undertaken projects to restore or adapt buildings or structures that have been in existence for forty years or more and included on the City of Toronto’s Inventory of Heritage Properties. In addition to the quality of craftsmanship, appropriateness of materials, and the use of sound conservation principles, the award focused on how well the project meets current needs while maintaining the integrity of the original design vision. Today, as the mother Church of the Archdiocese of Toronto, St. Michael’s Cathedral continues to undergo exterior restoration as well as significant interior restorations to maintain its beauty, accessibility and prominence as the spiritual centre of Canada’s largest family of faith. In recent years, the investment has reached $35M in restoration to ensure the safety and stability of the Cathedral structure, including reinforcing the foundations through underpinning, the reinstallation of the balcony to expand seating by 250, the creation of the Crypt Chapel to expand seating by 300, the repair and conservation of the exterior masonry and the restoration of the Cathedral spire. Restoration work continues as the interior of the Cathedral is returned to its original Gothic glory allowing us to continue increasing our efforts to reach both the Catholic community and those requiring our care beyond the Cathedral walls. Moving forward, we plan to invest in solidifying the heritage structure and enhancing the internal beauty of our historic landmark by investing an additional $25M through the Family of Faith Campaign and an additional $60M to accommodate future restoration work. Today, and for the next two years, the interior and exterior restoration work continues to restore St. Michael’s Cathedral to its original sacred glory and Gothic heritage. We are looking for your help to ensure that the transformation of this beautiful heritage landmark continues. NAMING OPPORTUNITIES We are honouring donors who contribute towards the St. Michael’s Cathedral restoration with special recognition opportunities. The examples of donor acknowledgments are only a few of the many opportunities available to those who are able to make generous donations. You may give gifts in your name, in your family name, or to honour or memorialize someone special to you. Examples are shown throughout the brochure. “… Beauty speaks to us and leads us beyond, into something profound. That is why it is important that the Cathedral be beautiful in art, architecture and music.” His Eminence Thomas Cardinal Collins XIII Arch Bishop of Toronto “...the Cathedral Church belongs properly to no particular parish, but that it is the Mother Church of the whole Diocese, such a temple should be built in a manner and style suitable to the Greatness and Majesty of Our Holy Religion.” Bishop Michael Power, First Bishop of Diocese of Toronto 56