Meet the Redemptorist Community of St. Patrick’s Toronto
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January 2, 2024St. Patrick’s Redemptorist Community counts 12 Redemptorists among its members: Joe Ruta (Rector), Santo Arrigo (Province Administrator and Director of Ignite), Tom O’Rourke (Pastor), Michael Brehl (Associate Pastor), David Purcell (Vocation Director), Eugene O’Reilly (Part-time Mission Preacher), Steve Morrisey (Pastoral Help), Paul Hansen (Justice and Peace), Carl Schmidt (Retired-pastoral help), and Peter Chin (Retired-pastoral help).
All community members live at 141 McCaul St. Bill Comerford (Retired) lives at the Houses of Providence, where he receives the medical and nursing attention he requires. Khai Nguyen (Student from Vietnam) now studies in Ottawa, but he remains connected to our community.
As you can see, the Community in downtown Toronto is made up of members of the province who are retired, with others who are very involved in different aspects of ministry like preaching, social justice, hospital chaplaincy, students from abroad and caring for the poor and most abandoned of downtown Toronto. We have a very diverse group of ministries and confreres.
Our community does have retired and active members. Our community has members who look after this house and the need of the province, members who look after the parish, and members who look after hospital ministry, our community has mission preachers, it has sacramental experts in the confessional and everyone helps with the very active OLPH devotions on Wednesdays.
Our community is certainly a place of Hospitality. Friends of the community are invited often to share a meal at our table. Companions of our community turn to us for hospitality and joy. We offer welcome and hospitality to many confreres and others from across Canada, the United States, and from other continents.
We are also Maple Leaf Fans, Argo Fans, Blue Jay fans and a source of God's Joy as it is reflected to our world. To sum up our house in but a few words - Smile, Prayer, Laughter, Hospitality and Joy.
St. Patrick’s Redemptorist Community has a number of very comfortable guest suites, and would be glad to welcome Redemptorists to visit us. In the centre of the city, we are close to many attractions, and we are easily accessible from both Toronto airports.