Living Heritage

At the dawn of Slovak history King Rastislav turned first to Rome and then to Constantinopole asking for "such a bishop and teacher who would explain to us the true Christian faith in our own language, that other countries also seeing this, would imitate us." Rastislav desired to develop the true faith which was already being preached in his region by monks from Bavaria, Ireland, Scotland, etc. - but he wanted to safeguard the identity of his people. The only way to do this was to make the Christian religion a part of Slovakia’s own culture. His wish was fulfilled when Sts. Cyril and Methodius came to his country. These two missionaries renewed the idea of the apostles who very early in the history of the church understood the principle of inculturation, which means that the Christian religion has to become a part of the culture of the people. Sts. Cyril and Methodius understood that their missionary work has to serve God and the people they are working for. That was the reason why they introduced the " Slovensky jazyk" (early Slovak language) in the liturgy and were ready to defend it and even to suffer for that principle.

The Slovaks eagerly adopted this idea and even after losing their independence, were able to survive because they always felt the need of combining religion and their culture, and found most of their patriots in the ranks of the clergy. This was proven even in this century under communist oppression.

Slovak emigrants brought this heritage of " for God and Nation", to the New World. They were poor and had to struggle for their basic material needs but one of their first concerns was the need for a Slovak church and a Slovak school. Slovak emigrants coming to Canada did the same. Wherever they were able to do so, they established their own church which became not only a religious but also cultural centre.

Slovak emigration to Toronto area became significant in the late 1920’s, and in 1929 Slovak Catholic organized a Catholic Parish, but they were able to officially open a parish only in 1934, after they received a Slovak priest from the USA in the person of the late Msgr. Michael Shuba. Under his direction, they built a church on the corner of Claremont and Robinson Streets which at that time was in the heart of the Slovak community. Little by little, as the Slovaks, as the Slovaks became more affluent, they moved from this area to the surrounding suburbs. As more and more of our parishioners moved to the suburbs, and the city core became more congested, the lack of sufficient parking became a major problem.

It became evident that to keep the Parish viable and vibrant, a move to a new location where a new church could be built, with all the required amenities, had to be taken into serious consideration. Preliminary investigations were made. A survey of parishioners showed the majority were in favour of such a move and indeed many pledge financial support towards this aim. Approval in principle was received from the Archdiocese and the search began in earnest.

After the parish celebrated its 50th Anniversary in 1984, the Pastor Rev. Vincent Danco, S.J. and the Parish Council undertook the task of considering a new location.

The search of the new location took a long time and was concentrated in the western area because most of the parishioners moved to the suburbs of Etobicoke and Mississauga. At the same time the parish was trying to find a buyer for the old church and it took several years to resolve these two issues. 1993 saw the issues favourably resolved and the move was on! After the last Mass celebrated in the old church on September 15th, 1993, the parish was in a temporary limbo. The new church was not built as yet, but we were helped by the Dufferin-Peel Separate School Board which gave us permission to use St. Jude School Gymnasium for our liturgical services. A private rented house became the rectory. The fund raising started in earnest and it progressed steadily. The Parish Council, Building Committee and many volunteers, especially members of the Rosary Society, spent many hours in planning and organizing all kinds of fund-raising events, i.e. bazaars, bake sales, Monte Carlo nights, Bingo, etc.

The building plans were made by the Stafford Haensli Architects Company under the leadership of an architect of Slovak origin, Mr. Lubo Dzamba. The final plans and budget were approved in early 1995 and in the spring of that year Martinway Contracting Ltd. started to build. The church was completed by December of 1995 and the Parish joyously celebrated Christmas Midnight Mass in God’s new home.

+ Fr. V. Danco, S.J.


PASTOR:

Rev. Miroslav Verčimak, Administrator

DUCHOVNÝ:

 

SUNDAY MASSES:

Saturday: English 5:00 pm

Sunday English 9:00 am

Slovak 11:00 am

NEDELNÉ SV. OMŠE:

Sobota: anglická 5:00 pm

Nedela: anglická 9:00 am

slovenská 11:00 am

WEEKDAY MASSES:

Monday, Thursday: 8:00 am

Tuesday, Wednesday, Friday: 7:00 pm

OMŠE VO VŠEDNÉ DNI:

Pondelok, štvrtok:  8:00 am

Utorok, streda, piatok: 7:00 pm

CONFESSION: A half hour before Masses and any other time by request.

BAPTISM, WEDDING: By appointment only

SPOVEDE: Pol hodiny pred Omšami a kedykolvek podla dohovoru.

KRSTY A SOBÁŠE: Podla dohovoru

Corpus cristi festivities - June 1, 1997


FARNOST SV. CYRILA A METODA

5255 Thornwood Drive
Mississauga, ON L4Z 3J3
Tel: (905) 712-1200
Fax: (905)712-0974
E-mail: scmchurch@ica.net

All contents copyright © 1997. All rights reserved
Photographs © 1997, Ondro Mihal
All comments should be forwarded to Ondro Mihal at omihal@slovak.com. 
Last Update: Feb. 15, 2001