Deacon Michael Corpus had family coming to Toronto from California and the Philippines to attend his May ordination to the priesthood. Other members of his St. Augustine’s Seminary graduating class were expecting family from as far away as Poland, South Korea and South America.

For almost half a century after Confederation, young men training to be priests in the Archdiocese of Toronto were sent to Montreal for formation because there was no seminary in English Canada

You might think that two brothers who ended up studying for the priesthood in the same seminary at the same time would have a lot in common.

TORONTO - Fr. Ricardo Davis struggled with a calling from two cities half a world apart.

One called him towards a life of celebrity, the other to a life of celibacy.

TORONTO - Priests need to preach the Church’s teachings on end-of-life issues more frequently to better spiritually prepare parishioners for the inevitable, Fr. Kevin Belgrave believes.

TORONTO - In his journey toward the priesthood, Deacon Eric Mah, a lawyer by training, has had to explain to some of his colleagues why becoming a priest is a “rational” decision in a world where making more money and climbing the corporate ladder are prized pursuits.

“You know in your heart that you’re deeply in love with Christ. But to non-Catholics, they see that you’re giving up your life,” the 33-year-old former insurance lawyer told The Catholic Register at a coffee shop near St. Michael’s Cathedral Nov. 5 where he picked up his vestments for his ordination to the diaconate scheduled for the next day.