Guelph celebrates Collins appointment as cardinal
Thomas Collins Toronto Archbishop Thomas Collins, a Guelph native shown in this Nov. 27, 2011 photo, has been selected to become a member of the pope's College of Cardinals.
Colin McConnell, Mercury News Services
GUELPH — Thomas Collins’ early spiritual life revolved around Guelph’s Church of Our Lady. His progress along the path of faith, and through the ecclesiastical ranks of the Roman Catholic Church has led him to the inner sanctum of Pope Benedict XVI.
The Archbishop of Toronto since 2007, the former Guelph altar boy was named to the College of Cardinals Thursday, an honour bestowed by the Pope and which makes Collins one of a select, international group of principal advisers to the Holy See.
Local Catholics are calling the appointment a remarkable and blessed development in the life of a man known for his exceptional knowledge and down-to-earth nature. Prime Minister Stephen Harper also congratulated Collins on the appointment, calling it an honour for all members of the Catholic Church across Canada, and “a testament to his hard work and faithful devotion to the Church and spiritual life.”
Collins, 64, is the son of a former Guelph Mercury circulation manager, and grew up literally in the shadow of the Church of Our Lady, on Durham Street. He walked up the west slope of Catholic Hill every day to attend school and mass. His sisters, Catherine and Patricia Collins still live in Guelph.
Catherine Collins said the family grew up in an atmosphere of religious devotion and spiritual encouragement, and had an unfailing connection to the great church on the hill from earliest memory. Her brother tied his destiny to the church from boyhood and never wavered, embracing the attitude that he would serve as he was called to serve. He continues to follow that personal motto.
“We are quite overwhelmed by the thought that a cardinal has come not just from our family, but that this is the first time ever from this region or from this parish that anyone has reached that level of distinction in the church,” said Catherine. “So we’re very thrilled with that news.”
Rev. Dennis Noon, pastor of Church of Our Lady, has known Collins for over 40 years and called him an outstanding church man, humble and extremely intelligent, with an ability to relate to people easily.
“Obviously the pope has recognized the gifts that he has,” said Rev. Noon. “To see someone from our parish made a cardinal is certainly a great honour for our parish, and for the people here who have known him all his life.”
The news is bound to energize the local parish and instill within it a great sense of pride, Noon indicated.
“There are people here who taught him, people who have known him as a youngster, and to see him rise to that point is a great credit to him,” Noon said. “And people feel honoured that they know him. He has such a good common touch.”
Collins makes frequent visits to Guelph, conducts mass at Church of Our Lady on occasion, and is very affable with the congregation, Noon noted.
“The only next step is if he were ever elected pope – next to that, being named a cardinal is the highest honour you could have,” Noon said, adding that “it is up to the holy spirit” if it is Collins’ destiny to become pope.
“You just never know,” he added.
Of the 22 cardinals-designate named by Pope Benedict XVI on Friday, 18 of them are under the age of 80, and are therefore eligible to participate in the conclave to elect a new pope if Benedict dies. There are generally about 120 cardinals who serve as papal electors at any given time.
John Valeriote, an eminent Guelph lawyer, local history enthusiast and Catholic, spoke of the extraordinary quality of the appointment.
“From my Catholic community point of view it is absolutely remarkable,” said Valeriote.
A Collins’ predecessor, Bishop Alexander Macdonell (1762–1840) of Toronto, made the deal with Guelph founder John Galt that gave Catholics the property on the hill, Valeriote explained. The Church of Our Lady parish, the Loretto Convent and schools for boys and girls were built on the site.
“And Tom Collins was a student on that hill, and he was an altar boy in that church,” said Valeriote. “It’s just a wonderful, wonderful story. When you put it in an historical context, it has some magical qualities to it. Who would ever believe that what goes around would come around in such a grand style.”
Cardinals are selected based on their “extraordinary abilities spiritually and otherwise,” Valeriote added. “You can’t reach that level without obviously demonstrating strong academic and administrative abilities. And he has a down-to-earth quality that tends to appeal to people. He doesn’t come off as magisterial. He comes off as being truly a kind, warm human being, and bright.”
Noon said a cardinal has considerable influence in the world.
“Because he is an advisor to the pope he would speak even more fully on behalf of the pope in many ways,” Noon said. “And he has that influence in Rome now as a papal advisor. He will be on various commissions over there, so it will give him a voice speaking on behalf of the Canadian church.”
Catherine Collins said her brother “is someone that works tirelessly in his role as shepherd of his flock,” and he has been consistent in those efforts whether as Bishop of St. Paul in Alberta, and as archbishop of Edmonton and Toronto.
“His philosophy is to seek nothing, and to reject nothing that the church asks him to do,” she said. “Whatever the pope would ask him to do, he would willingly take on. Different popes over a period of some years now have chosen him for various responsibilities in the church, and he has accepted those responsibilities willingly for the greater good of the glory of God.”
Her brother began his life as a servant of the church as an altar boy at Church of Our Lady, assisting with the 9 a.m. mass on Sundays.
“He had a very spiritual upbringing, with his father and mother were both very much in tune with what his spiritual needs were,” Catherine Collins explained. “His father gave him a tremendous example of holiness.”
Thomas Collins was born in Guelph in 1947 and raised in the city. He was inspired by his Grade 11 teacher, Father John Newstead, at Bishop Macdonnell Catholic High School, to consider the priesthood.
He was ordained to the priesthood in 1973, and ordained a bishop in 1997. He holds several degrees, including a master of arts in English from the University of Western Ontario and a doctorate of theology from Gregorian University in Rome.
He will continue to serve as Archbishop of Toronto. As cardinal he will be responsible for an ecclesiastical province that includes several Ontario dioceses, including Toronto, Hamilton, London, St. Catharines and Thunder Bay. He becomes the fourth cardinal in the 110-year history of the Archdiocese of Toronto and the 16th cardinal in the history of the Roman Catholic Church in Canada.
Noon said Church of Our Lady will begin planning a celebration for Collins in the near future, inviting the cardinal as the honoured guest.
Cardinal Collins is scheduled to speak at a Rotary Club of Guelph luncheon on Friday, Jan. 20 at the Italian Canadian Club. His address begins at 1:00 p.m.
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