Join the St. Michael’s community as we celebrate the university’s patron saint, St. Michael, with the annual Michaelmas festivities on Thursday, September 26. Michaelmas is the feast day for the three archangels, Michael, Raphael and Gabriel. In addition to being the college’s patron saint, Michael is also the patron saint for the Archdiocese of Toronto and many of the city’s founding Catholic institutions are named after him.
“The tradition of celebrating our patron saint honours our college’s roots while also serving as a second orientation, one that welcomes the entire community back to campus each fall,” explained Sonal Castelino, Director of Mission and Ministry.
The celebrations commence as faculty don their academic regalia for an academic procession into St. Basil’s Church, where a special Mass will be held at 12:10 p.m. Afterwards, the festivities move outside to Elmsley Lane where there will be food trucks, cake and games organized by various student clubs.
Campus Ministry and SMC Wellness teams have collaborated to offer students a family-style dinner. Starting at 4:30 p.m., students are invited to a taco and karaoke night in Macrina Hall at St. Basil’s Church.
A highlight of the Michaelmas celebrations will be St. Michael’s Schola Cantorum’s first concert of the season. Schola Cantorum is an auditioned choir that draws members from the entire St. Michael’s community, including undergraduate and graduate students, faculty and staff, alumni and parishioners of St. Basil’s Church. This year’s concert will take place on Monday, September 23 at 7:30 p.m. at St. Basil’s Church.
The concert will feature joyful music written to celebrate this angelic feast, including Michael Haydn’s festive Missa Sancti Gabrielis and Te Deum, together with selections by Baroque composers Grandi, Torres and Young, and the beautiful chant propers of the liturgy. The Schola, directed by Campus Ministry music director, Dr. Christina Labriola, will be joined by four invited soloists and accompanied by a stellar instrumental ensemble under the leadership of Christopher Verrette. Admission is free for this event, with donations welcome in support of Campus Ministry’s outreach to St. Basil’s Out of the Cold program. All are welcome to attend.