August 2018 Toronto ON
I showed the outside of this church way back in 2013! This was in our old neighbourhood and yet we had never been inside until last weekend! It is always locked except for services.
But last weekend was Taste of the Danforth and a couple of the churches decided to open their doors for tours.
Click here for more Danforth.
The Church of the Holy Name is a historic church built during 1913 to 1926.
Holy Name Parish was established on September 11, 1913, a time when the city of Toronto was rapidly expanding eastward beyond the Don River. An eight-room Catholic school had already been built just south of the Danforth in 1912. The next logical step, taken with the support of Archbishop Neil McNeil, was to build a church. A provisional chapel was erected and the first mass was celebrated there on October 5, 1913, with 275 people in attendance.
It would fall to Holy Name’s founder and first resident pastor, Father Michael Cline, to undertake the hard work of parish organization and construction. Both Father Cline and the archdiocese had great plans for Holy Name, and by August of 1914, construction of a proper church had begun. But world events conspired to interrupt the building. In the same month that work began on the church, World War I was declared,
and construction of Holy Name was put on hold as workmen all over the city enlisted in the army.
The construction of the main church was completed in 1926 and the doors solemnly opened and were blessed on March 14 of that year.
Holy Name continued to be a centre of Catholic community life on the Danforth throughout the Great Depression and World War II. Father Cline became Monsignor Cline and remained at Holy Name until his death in 1947. His successor, Father Leo Smyth, remained pastor until 1979, and oversaw additions to Holy Name School in 1949, 1957, 1961 and 1968 to accommodate the rapidly expanding young Catholic population along the Danforth.
Father Smyth and the congregation of Holy Name welcomed waves of new immigrants to Canada during those years. Masses in Italian were celebrated at Holy Name until, with Father Smyth‘s help, the Italians of the Danforth were able to establish their own parish, St. Catherine of Siena. This tradition of vibrant diversity continues today at Holy Name with the presence of the African Catholic community, as well as parishioners who hail from the Caribbean, the Philippines, India and Latin America, enriching the founding communities of Irish, Scottish and English Canadians who were the mainstay of parish life in the early years.
The large pool of water is the baptismal font used for baptisms.
Moving towards the front of the church, you may notice that the building becomes wider. The wider part is called the transept. It helps give the floorplan the shape of a cross. There are three main parts in this style of Church, which is based on the traditional European design – the nave, the long narrow part that we have been in so far, the transept which we are just entering and the sanctuary which includes the altar.
You can view the timeline here.
The statue of Saint Brother Andre with his extended right hand and in his left hand holding a set of keys reflects his ministry as a door keeper at St. Joseph's Oratory in Montreal.
and construction of Holy Name was put on hold as workmen all over the city enlisted in the army.
The construction of the main church was completed in 1926 and the doors solemnly opened and were blessed on March 14 of that year.
Holy Name continued to be a centre of Catholic community life on the Danforth throughout the Great Depression and World War II. Father Cline became Monsignor Cline and remained at Holy Name until his death in 1947. His successor, Father Leo Smyth, remained pastor until 1979, and oversaw additions to Holy Name School in 1949, 1957, 1961 and 1968 to accommodate the rapidly expanding young Catholic population along the Danforth.
Father Smyth and the congregation of Holy Name welcomed waves of new immigrants to Canada during those years. Masses in Italian were celebrated at Holy Name until, with Father Smyth‘s help, the Italians of the Danforth were able to establish their own parish, St. Catherine of Siena. This tradition of vibrant diversity continues today at Holy Name with the presence of the African Catholic community, as well as parishioners who hail from the Caribbean, the Philippines, India and Latin America, enriching the founding communities of Irish, Scottish and English Canadians who were the mainstay of parish life in the early years.
The large pool of water is the baptismal font used for baptisms.
Moving towards the front of the church, you may notice that the building becomes wider. The wider part is called the transept. It helps give the floorplan the shape of a cross. There are three main parts in this style of Church, which is based on the traditional European design – the nave, the long narrow part that we have been in so far, the transept which we are just entering and the sanctuary which includes the altar.
You can view the timeline here.
The statue of Saint Brother Andre with his extended right hand and in his left hand holding a set of keys reflects his ministry as a door keeper at St. Joseph's Oratory in Montreal.
awesome details. i enjoy the roundish section most. ( :
ReplyDeleteBeautiful church, we always miss what is on our doorsteps
ReplyDeleteWhat a beautiful church!
ReplyDelete