By Mariela Torroba Hennigen and Christian Towalski
TORONTO (CCN) — In this Year of St. Francis, intended to underline the 800th anniversary of the death of St. Francis of Assisi, the Toronto parish named for the much-loved saint has grown by welcoming new members through a merger with the Hispanic San Juan Bautista Parish.
St. Francis of Assisi Parish celebrated its first patronal feast day since the merger with a bilingual Mass, in English and in Spanish, Oct. 4, followed by lunch and fellowship in the parish hall.
The two parishes merged for practical purposes, said Bishop Robert Kasun, vicar for the central region of the Archdiocese of Toronto. The merger came into effect Jan. 4, when San Juan Bautista Parish held its last Mass, before the church at 941 Dundas Street West was permanently closed.
“The overall reason is better stewardship of our resources,” he said. “Merging them with an existing parish provided them with a full-time priest.”
The bishop told CCN that after years of financial struggle, the Hispanic community at San Juan Bautista could no longer afford to maintain their building and relied on a part-time chaplain for services. A closure was expected, but not ideal.
“We didn’t want to do that because they were a vibrant community,” Bishop Kasun said, “but we had to do something.”
Its website, which is still online, says former parishioners of San Juan Bautista were “blessed to join” St. Francis of Assisi Parish, a historically Italian- and English-speaking community, located a few blocks north in Toronto’s Little Italy district. The archdiocese has yet to decide the fate of San Juan Bautista’s church building.
“We have considered various uses, but none of them have proven to be possible,” Bishop Kasun said. “Likely, the facility will go on the market. A significant portion of the proceeds follows the people; that is, to the merged parish of St. Francis.”
Father Ricardo Mendoza, FM, pastor of St. Francis of Assisi since last October, now ministers to three cultural and linguistic communities in one parish: Hispanic, Italian and English-speaking. He speaks all three languages fluently.
Born and raised in Mexico, he became a priest of the Franciscans of Mary, and lived in Seattle for 10 years and in Rome for six.
“We’re not three different parishes,” he said. “It’s not the Spanish, (the) Italian, the English. We are one family of God, one parish family, and I’m emphasizing that lately.”
Fr. Mendoza described the parish merger as “that process of testing ground.”
In his homily, delivered in both English and Spanish, he encouraged the congregation to consider how the life of St. Francis inspires them in their lives today. He added that “it was not a mere coincidence” that he was “entrusted with this parish,” as a Franciscan priest.
Parishioners said they were pleased with how the merger has gone.
“I think the transition has been really, really smooth,” said Jo-Anne Rebelo, a parishioner of St. Francis of Assisi for more than 18 years. “And it’s nice to see the pews more full,” she said, noting a decline in attendance over the years.
“It’s nice to see the three different cultures come together and share the different ways of our faith,” she added.
Those welcomed from San Juan Bautista have been pleasantly surprised with this process.
Estela Gonzalez, who was a parishioner at San Juan Bautista for 14 years, said the merger was “honestly better than I expected because it was very odd for the Spanish-speaking community to transition to something unknown.”
Father Ricardo’s various visits to San Juan Bautista in years past helped, she said. “People kind of got to know him and feel a little bit more comfortable,” she added. “That motivated the community to come to this parish.”
Parishioners said gatherings to celebrate special liturgical events, like the patronal feast day, are valuable.
“It’s nice to be together and not separated all the time,” added Rebelo, who among the English-speaking parishioners. “Otherwise, then, it’ll feel like two different churches, and it’s really nice to come down here (to the hall) and see it so full because for so many years it was not this full.”
St. Francis of Assisi Parish has stood in this part of Toronto since before World War I. Historically, the church has served the local Italian community.
“It’s hard sometimes to bring people from different backgrounds together,” Fr. Mendoza said. “So I think that could be the biggest challenge.”
One way he sought to unite the community was by celebrating his birthday. “Because I told them, ‘You’re my family,’” he said. Parishioners surprised him with the gift of a mariachi band, which he described as a “family moment.”
“It’s not a perfect family,” he added. “There’s only one: The Holy Family — Joseph, Mary and Jesus — that’s the perfect family. The rest of us are not perfect, but we do our best to come together as a parish family, as a family of faith.”
Fr. Mendoza seeks to reinforce this sense of family also with parishioners who cannot attend church, making home visits, including for Communion calls or house blessings.
He recalled visiting an older Italian parishioner: “She told me: ‘Tu sei il mio nipote,’ which in Italian means ‘You are my grandson.’”
“We need to cultivate the sense that this is my spiritual home,” he said of the work of building community after a parish merger. “It’s not just a church that I go to, but this is my spiritual home where I am welcome, where I come in, hear the Word of God, where I come and nourish myself, receiving Christ in Holy Communion.”
