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St Basil’s Church was founded in 1856 and is the third oldest church in the city of Toronto after St. Paul’s Basilica (1822) and St. Michael’s Catherdral (1845). The land on which the church was built, Clover Hill, was open country and situated well to the north of the city as it was then. Over the intervening years Toronto grew enormously and what was then a country parish is now located well within the heart of downtown Toronto. We are the collegiate church of the University of St. Michael's College at the University of Toronto, as well as being the parish church to our parishioners who come to worship here from all over the city. Since October 2007, we have been the home of the National Televised Daily Mass, reaching people in their homes all over Canada. The Daily Mass is broadcast six days a week on Vision TV, the Crossroads Television Network, and Salt and Light TV.

The patron saint of St. Basil’s Church, St. Basil the Great, was born in 329 AD in Caesarea in Asia Minor. He died in 379 AD. St. Basil was a teacher, a preacher and a monk. He is also the patron of the Congregation of St. Basil, also known as the Basilians, or the Basilian Fathers, the religious order of priests that founded the University of St. Michael’s College and St. Basil’s Church.

For more interesting facts about St. Basil's and to see some photos of our historical church, please click here.

The Basilians:

The Congregation of St. Basil, a religious order of Roman Catholic priests, has its roots in Annonay, France in the aftermath of the French Revolution. At the turn of the 19th century a small group of priests came together and opened a school to educate seminarians. Over time, the number of priests at Annonay grew around the apostolate of teaching and preaching and other schools were opened to provide children with a more general education. In 1822 this group of priests formed a religious association. Thirty years later, in 1852, this association formally became a religious congregation. In 1850, Fr. Patrick Moloney, a Basilian, arrived in Canada in the company of Bishop de Charbonnel. Fr. Moloney was soon followed by four confreres whose task it was to set up a new school in Toronto. St. Michael’s College (now part of the University of Toronto) was founded in 1852 and St. Basil’s Church in 1856. Over time the Basilian community expanded in Canada and the United States and also opened parishes and schools in Mexico, Colombia and St. Lucia. In 1922 the Basilians in France and North America separated into two independent congregations, the Basilian Fathers of the Diocese of Viviers, France and the Basilian Fathers of Toronto, the North American congregation. In 1955 the two congregations reunited resulting in the present Congregation of the Priests of St. Basil. Since the Basilians first came to North America over 150 years ago, they founded a number of schools and parishes in Canada, the United States, Mexico, St. Lucia, and Colombia. As religious priests, Basilians live in community and take vows of chastity, poverty and obedience. If you are interested in finding out more about the Basilians, you can visit their website by on the link to the left.