The Toronto Oratory Commemorates Half a Century

On Oct. 5, the Toronto Oratory of St Philip Neri celebrated its 50th anniversary with a celebratory gala at the Liberty Grand, attended by over 500 people. Among the distinguished guests, His Eminence Frank Cardinal Leo gave a short address and led a prayer before the meal.

The community that became the Toronto Oratory was founded by Fr. Jonathan Robinson, initially in Montreal, before moving to Toronto in 1979 at the invitation of Cardinal Carter. Since then, the Oratorians have had care of Holy Family Parish in Parkdale and, since 2004, of St Vincent de Paul Parish in Howard Park. The community also runs St Philip's Seminary, which has formed almost 200 priests since 1984 for dioceses and religious orders in North America and throughout the world. In addition, the community has run a food bank and continues to provide chaplaincies to nursing homes, hospitals and Catholic schools. Fr. Robinson passed away in 2020, but the community continues to grow and now has 18 members, making it one of the largest in the worldwide Oratorian family. 

The Toronto Oratory plans to continue its 50th anniversary celebrations in the coming months. Foremost among the events to come will be a special Mass on November 1, which is not only the date of the community's foundation in 1975, but coincides this year with the official declaration of the English Oratorian St. John Henry Newman as a Doctor of the Church. 

For more information on the Toronto Oratory, please visit https://oratory-toronto.org/.