TORONTO – So far, he is a breath of “fresh air”, someone with whom all Canadians can easily identify, if they want: a person imbued with principles, an ideology that is altruistic, a record of service to the structure and culture of a universal collective dedicated to a common sensibility to responsibility, merit and to compassion for those who fall short. 

You may have guessed, I am referring to the Metropolitan Archbishop of Toronto, Francis Leo, soon to be elevated to the rank of Cardinal, on December 8 – feast of the Immaculate Conception. A more fitting day could not have been more apt for the ceremony. The Archbishop is an exemplary model for those who venerate the humanizing qualities of motherhood, education and care embodied by the Virgin Mary (read a brief summary from Wikipedia, here).

For the non-religious, Michaelangelo Buonarotti, the quintessential man of the Renaissance who turned stone to life (or as he reputedly said, “I chip away the stone that imprisons Life”), felt that the Blessed Mother Mary was the embodiment of terrestrial life, as anyone who has seen his creation La Pietà will attest (in the pic below, by Juan M. Romero from Wikipedia.com).

Archbishop Leo, by his very existence – unassuming, yet focused – has raised expectations for a community yearning for assertive leadership in a socio-political environment where less-than-stellar individuals bend to the winds propelling activists for the objectives of the moment. It may be unfair to him and to his predecessors to speak in these terms; there is not the minimum of slight intended.

That having been said, “to whom much is given, much is expected”. Former Senator Basile Giordano, elected to the Italian Parliament from the North American Constituency, and a former parishioner of “Father Leo” when he served in his native Montreal, was beaming with pride and glowing with anticipation when he was installed as Archbishop of Toronto: “è papabile”, he said.

Who knows? As Catholics say, “the Lord works in mysterious ways”. The Italian Canadian community of the GTA or Montreal might want to cheer for whom they might consider “one of their own”. When the news surfaced regarding the announcement, pre-arranged schedules had the Archbishop as the main Celebrant at a Mass to commemorate the 100th anniversary of the founding of the Church dedicated to St. Theresa, located on Tenth street in southern Etobicoke.

The parish serves three great populations of European immigrants, almost equal numerically, from Italy, Poland and Ukraine. I was not there but our office has been inundated by calls from people in the [Slavic] Polish community gushing with enthusiasm that much of the Mass, and the homily, was conducted in perfect Polish.

TCDSB Trustee for the area, Teresa Lubinski (in the pic above, with Archbishop Leo / photo by Lubinski family), said, “I thought the Mass was conducted in remarkable and impeccable language. He touched everyone with the metaphors of the Message in three different languages. This is a man of the people, so like one of his predecessors, John Paul II. It was all about Hope and aspiration; so different from those whose actions and strategies are being decried world-wide”.

Two other parishes have announced they are having the Cardinal-to-be as a celebrant at their Church. They won’t be the only ones.

In the pics below (by Lubinski family), the Mass in Etobicoke