St. Paul's Basilica

St. Paul's Basilica is the oldest Roman Catholic congregation in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. It is located at 83 Power Street in the Corktown neighbourhood, just east of downtown near the intersection of Queen and Parliament streets.HistoryThe parish was established in 1822 by James Baby, when the Town of York was part of the Diocese of Kingston and was the only Roman Catholic parish between Kingston and Windsor. The original structure was constructed of red brick on the same site. To serve the expanding Irish immigrant community, a school opened soon after the church. When the Diocese of Toronto was separated from the Diocese of Kingston in 1842, St. Paul's served as the pro-cathedral until St. Michael's Cathedral was completed in 1848.The church is housed in an Italianate structure designed by Joseph Connolly and built in 1889. It is based on the design of the Basilica of St. Paul Outside the Walls in Rome. The new building was necessary to house the growing congregation.The first Catholic cemetery in Toronto opened east of the church in 1822. The large increase in the Catholic population caused by Irish immigration quickly filled the cemetery to capacity, and it was replaced by St. Michael's Cemetery in 1857. The site of the old cemetery is now the parking lot and playground area for St. Paul's Catholic School.