St. Michael's Cathedral Basilica is the cathedral church of the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Toronto, Canada, and one of the oldest churches in Toronto. It is located at 65 Bond Street in Toronto's Garden District. St. Michael's was designed by William Thomas, designer of eight other churches in the city, and was primarily financed by Irish immigrants who resided in the area. The cathedral has a capacity of 1600. John Cochrane and Brothers undertook the work on the stone and stucco ornamentation of the interior. St. Michael's Cathedral is a major building of faith in downtown Toronto. It was originally constructed away from the city's centre, but over time the city has grown to encompass it. It was constructed to better serve the growing Roman Catholic population of Toronto. It is a prime example of the English Gothic Revival style of architecture. On September 29, 2016, the feast day of Saint Michael the Archangel, the cathedral was elevated to a minor basilica. Archdiocese The cathedral is home to Canada's largest English-speaking Catholic archdiocese. The current archbishop is Bishop Francis "Frank" Leo, appointed by Pope Francis on 11 February 2023. In addition to worship services, the church sponsors a number of outreach programs for nearby residents. History On April 7, 1845, construction began on St. Michael's Cathedral and the Bishop's Palace, a three-story rectory adjacent to the Neo-Gothic cathedral. Both buildings were designed by William Thomas. Townspeople dug out the foundation by hand in return for a barbecue. Shipwrights made the interior columns out of maple and oak. On May 8, 1845, Bishop Power laid the cornerstone for the cathedral in the four-year-old diocese. Some fragments of a stone pillar from the old Norman-style York Minster Cathedral in England and some small pieces of the oak roof of that same cathedral were sealed within St. Michael's cornerstone. St. Michael's is a 19th-century interpretation of the Minster's 14th century English Gothic style. The connection with York Minster is appropriate, since Toronto was known as the town of York from its settlement in 1793 until it was incorporated in 1834 and the name was changed back. Bishop Power died on October 1, 1847, having contracted typhus while tending to his flock. His funeral was held at St. Paul's, and he was buried in the crypt of the unfinished St. Michael's Cathedral. Also buried in the crypt is a man who fell from the