THE P RTAL
December 2013
Page 9
Beautiful Music and
Mission in Toronto
Ordinariate Church
by John Hodgins
In October
St. Thomas More (Ordinariate) Catholic Church in Toronto, Ontario, Canada (STM)
set its mission goals and budget. STM is part of the Canadian Deanery, which comes under the jurisdiction
of the Ordinariate of the Chair of St. Peter serving all of North America until a Canadian Ordinariate is
feasible.
STM works in close association
with the Catholic Archdiocese of
Toronto and is currently sharing
Sacré-Coeur (SC) Church in
downtown Toronto next to
Ryerson University. STM also
shares the time of Cardinal
Collin’s personal assistant Fr.
Eric Rodrigues who has acted as
the group’s enthusiastic chaplain
since May 2012. Fr. Eric loves the
Anglican Ordinariate liturgy for
its dignity and solemnity.
the French-speaking parish at
SC. STM recently had more good
news. STM will soon be served by
their own priest, John Hodgins, a
founding member of the church
and former Anglican priest. John
is to be ordained deacon at SC on
Dec. 1 by Cardinal Collins and
then priest in Ottawa at Notre
Dame Basilica on Dec. 14 just in
time for Christmas celebrations.
The liturgical calendar looks like this:
• Sung Mass with Parish Choir every Sunday at 1:45pm
• Christmas Eve Sung Midnight Mass at 11:30pm
• Vigil Mass: Solemnity of Mary, Mother of God on Dec. 31 at 5pm
• Epiphany Evensong and Benediction on Sunday, January 5 at 5pm.
Several other priests from the archdiocese and
from the Oratory parish of Holy Family ensure that
an Ordinariate Sung Mass is celebrated every Sunday
at 1:45 pm at SC. These priests include L’Abbé Justin
Deroches, pastor of SC who normally celebrates Mass
Beginning in Advent STM will be using the new
in French but has filled in on several occasions when Ordinariate Missal. A pew missal is being prepared
Fr. Eric is travelling with the cardinal.
which will include music for the Ordinary of the Mass
to complement the fine weekly Gregorian settings for
Outreach to Ryerson University students in the propers along with polyphonic music.
conjunction with “Ryerson Catholics” is part of the
pastoral plan for STM as the small, but growing,
Mass at STM is celebrated ‘ad orientem’
community of former Anglican Catholics is joined by
former Mennonites, Baptists, Seventh Day Adventists MISSION GOALS OF ST THOMAS MORE
and other Catholics who have been baptized but 1. To worship and serve the Triune God in the beauty
of holiness, promoting Catholic worship in accord
unconfirmed. They often come first for the music.
with the Apostolic Constitution Anglicanorum
Coetibus, A.D. 2009.
STM is served by an excellent choir of professional
singers under the direction of Peter Mahon (Director 2. To develop the Anglican musical tradition and
of Toronto’s Tallis Choir). Peter is the son of Albert
Anglican patrimony within the Catholic Church
Mahon who for many years served as cantor for the
in Toronto, in the service of Christian unity.
great Toronto church musician Healey Willan. Every 3. To support mission and outreach in the New
week the STM choir sings Willan masses along with
Evangelization in partnership with the Catholic
the music of Palestrina, Victoria, Tallis and others in
Chaplaincy at Ryerson University, Sacré-Coeur
the classical sacred choral canon.
parish and ecumenical partners, as a witness to
those seeking the Christian unity to which our
The STM liturgical schedule works around that of
Lord calls us.