History
In his pastoral letter of 1912, Archbishop Neil McNeil proclaimed boldly that he expected St. Augustine’s Seminary of Toronto to do “a great work for the Church,” by training men for the ministerial priesthood. The history of St. Augustine’s Seminary has proven that his words were prophetic ones. In the last century, it has produced more the two-thousand priests, nearly forty bishops, and two cardinals from its fertile formation program. More than a place of learning, the Seminary is where men conform lives to that of the Good Shepherd, Jesus Christ, seeing with His eyes, hearing with His ears, preaching with His mouth, healing with His hands, and most importantly, loving with His heart.
St. Augustine's Seminary was established in 1913 as one of the first major Seminaries established in English-speaking Canada for the training of diocesan priests. From the time it was founded, the Seminary has been a renewing source of study and the spiritual life enabling candidates to mature in faith, virtue, knowledge, and pastoral skill.
The Seminary, then, is the diocesan seminary for the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Toronto but also accepts other candidates who are sent by Bishops from other Dioceses. The Seminary recognizes the responsibility to the Roman Catholic Church, its life, its traditions and its ministries. It acknowledges its responsibilities to the bishops, particularly to the Archbishop of Toronto, in preparing suitable candidates for the ministry. The program of priestly formation is guided by the official documents of the Roman Catholic Church, particularly by the Second Vatican Council’s Decree on Priestly Training (1965), Pastores Dabo Vobis, the Post-Synodal Apostolic Exhortation of Pope John Paul II (1992), the Ratio Fundamentalis Institutionis Sacerdotalis, The Gift of the Priestly Vocation, by the Congregation for the Clergy (2016), the Apostolic Constitution, Veritatis Gaudium, by Pope Francis (2017), the Program for Priestly Formation by the Canadian Conference of Catholic Bishops (2019), as well as pertinent canons of the Code of Canon Law, and the various guidelines of ecclesiastical authorities.
“A SEMINARY IS MUCH MORE THAN AN INSTITUTION OF LEARNING. IT IS ESPECIALLY A PLACE WHERE PRIESTS ARE TRAINED TO CARRY OUT THE WORK OF TRUTH AND GRACE. HOLINESS OF LIFE AND CONSECRATION OF PURPOSE IN THE SEMINARIANS ARE MORE IMPORTANT THAN SCHOLARSHIP, AND MORE DIFFICULT OF ATTAINMENT.”
The book St. Augustine’s Seminary, A History discusses our one-hundred-year history. Contact us if you’re interested in learning more.
This work, celebrating the centenary of St. Augustine’s Seminary is dedicated to all those, who have studied and taught at St. Augustine’s Seminary.
St. Augustine's Seminary was established in 1913 as one of the first major Seminaries in English-speaking Canada to train diocesan priests. From the time it was founded, the Seminary has been a renewing source of study and reflection, enabling men of faith to mature both in knowledge and commitment.