TORONTO - Finding a portable altar stone containing first class relics among the forgotten items in the basement of the Paulist Centre for Catholic Evangelization caught Fr. Michael McGourty by surprise.

EDMONTON - Paulist Father Thomas Ryan was turning 50 when he decided he didn’t want just another birthday cake, a scoop of ice cream and “Happy Birthday” sung to him.

TORONTO - The Paulist Fathers don’t want to leave Toronto, they have to. That strange uptick in vocations after the Second World War has now worked its way through the system and there aren’t enough priests left to staff the ambitious little empire of Paulist ministries that once dotted cities across North America. So, after a century in Toronto, the U.S.-based Paulists are going home.

Paulist priests preached their first mission in Canada 156 years ago. Fifty-six years later they arrived in Toronto where they came to operate St. Peter’s parish and open the Newman Centre on what is now the campus of the University of Toronto. Due to declining numbers they are being forced to cease Canadian operations and return home. Here is a timeline of their years in Canada.

TORONTO - For several years now, my office at the Paulist Ministry Centre has been flanked on either side by the office of a Paulist Father. I have appreciated the Paulist presence more each day, the priests who’ve occupied those rooms, and the spirit and community present with them. I’ve learned about their community through their actions and words, and through encountering the day-to-day life of the people at St. Peter’s parish and the Ministry Centre.