St. Michael's Cathedral, Toronto - Canada - Cathedrals on Waymarking.com

On April 7, 1845, construction began on St. Michael's Cathedral and the Bishop's Palace, a three-story rectory adjacent to the Neo-Gothic cathedral. Both buildings were designed by William Thomas. Townspeople dug out the foundation by hand in return for a barbecue. Shipwrights made the interior columns out of maple and oak. On May 8, 1845, Bishop Power laid the cornerstone for the cathedral in the four-year-old diocese.[4] Some fragments of a stone pillar from the old Norman-style York Minster Cathedral in England and some small pieces of the oak roof of that same cathedral were sealed within St. Michael's cornerstone. St. Michael's is a 19th-century interpretation of the Minster's 14th century English Gothic style. The connection with York Minster is appropriate, since Toronto was known as the town of York from its settlement in 1793 until it was incorporated in 1834 and the name was changed back.

Bishop Power died on October 1, 1847, having contracted typhus while tending to his flock. His funeral was held at St. Paul’s, and he was buried in the crypt of the unfinished St. Michael’s Cathedral.[5] Also buried in the crypt is a man who fell from the roof during construction.

The cathedral was dedicated on August 29, 1848, to St. Michael the Archangel. On September 29, 1848, the cathedral was consecrated after substantial work by the Honourable John Elmsley and his friend Samuel G. Lynn to reduce the debt. The seventy nine meter bell tower, which contains two bells, was consecrated in 1866.

The cathedral played an instrumental role in the founding of nearby St. Michael's Hospital when the Sisters of Saint Joseph, who came to Toronto at the request of Bishop Charbonnel to operate an orphanage and settlement house, responded to the need for care during a diphtheria epidemic in 1892. For more information (visit link) (Source Wikipedia)

Date founded or constructed: 19th centery Web site: [Web Link] Address: Not listed Religious affiliation: Not listed

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