“We have to construct a community of love, a community with a sense of solidarity, with a sense of what being Christian means… to love our neighbour, to love our God,” said Mateo, a native Guatemalan who has been a parishioner at St. Philip Neri for 17 years. “We love this community.”
St. Philip Neri is also home to two other communities — English and Italian — whom Mateo said are “like brothers.” Without the welcoming, open-minded support of these communities and the Capuchin-Franciscans who operate the parish, the Hispanic community wouldn’t be what it is today, he said.
“The Capuchin-Franciscans do a great job with the community and we are very happy to be part of (it),” said Mateo.
The Hispanic community at St. Philip Neri was one of the first in Toronto, according to Mateo, who is also a Eucharistic minister and RCIA coordinator. And since its very beginnings, it’s been a place of refuge for immigrants and those in transition.“I always say that St. Philip Neri is a sleeping giant, because this area is a poor area, but it’s a wonderful area, it’s a multicultural area,” said Mateo.
“I think something good is happening at St. Philip.”
Conference to celebrate the Eucharist
By Luc Rinaldi, Catholic Register SpecialFor 25 years, St. Philip Neri Parish has been a “sanctuary” for the Hispanic Catholic community in Toronto.
On June 25 and 26, the parish will celebrate this quarter century with a two-day conference on “The Living Eucharistic Presence of Jesus.” The conference, entirely in Spanish, will feature Guatemalan preachers Rev. Oscar Gracias and Juan Ramón Martinez Hernandez, and coincides with the feast of Corpus Christi.
“That is the centre of our life,” said organizer Ignacio Mateo of the feast and the theme it inspired for the conference. “We gather as Latin-American people, and we gather for one reason — the blessed sacrament, the holy Eucharist. That is the reason we are united, why we live.”
Both days of the conference will include the rosary, Mass, and a procession of the blessed sacrament. The first day will focus on four themes — the Old Testament, Church life, education, as well as life, healing and liberation — in relation to the Eucharist. The speakers will address these themes and, on the second day, focus on unity and family within the Eucharist.
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