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No Mass in Cathedral town
A property dispute in Markham has shut a landmark church blessed by john Paul II
Craig Offman
National Post
Tuesday, August 07, 2007
In the 1980s, Josephine and her mother used to drive past the Church of the Transfiguration, a Byzantine colossus with four gold-leafed cupolas that vaulted out of the drab farmland northeast of Toronto. They should move there one day, her mom said, and on Sundays they could worship in the cathedral.
Josephine's mother eventually died, but in 2004 came a minor miracle -- or secularly speaking, a suburban inevitability.
The owner of the property in Markham, Helen Roman-Barber, announced a plan to convert her family's vast cattle ranch into an ambitious and unlikely development called Cathedraltown. Billed as a "new world vision with old world values," this development of 1,200 homes would be a standout in the sprawl, a swath of Jane Jacobs village-in-the-city idealism.
It would boast a lake. A high street with shops. And at the heart of it, the majestic, 65-metre-tall place of worship: the only one in North America to be blessed by a pope. It would look more like a university town than a typical Toronto suburb.
A devout Catholic who likes to reminisce about her undergraduate days in Paris, the Taiwan-raised Josephine, who declined to give her last name, bought a corner lot and moved in last year. As with all the houses in the neighbourhood, there is a little plaque with the silhouette of a cathedral next to her doorbell.
But Josephine must pray at a Catholic-Chinese congregation a few kilometres down the road. As it turns out, the landmark church doesn't hold a regular Mass. And since the bishop left a year ago after a squabble over property rights with the landowners, it's not really an official cathedral, either. The Vatican cannot officially recognize the place of worship because the diocese is no longer there.
Security guards now troll the property, which is fenced-in, weeded-up and looks more like a First World War minefield than sacred ground. The nearby man-made lake is unadorned.
That old world charm hasn't landed on these shores just yet.
"One of the reasons we moved here was because we were looking for a sense of community, a sense of belonging. But it's not there," said Rod Cuevas, a resident who is also a real estate agent in the area. "These are people who just aren't happy." He said he'd leave, but the relocation cost is too great; a client of his said he just sold his house for the very reasons his agent mentioned -- and equally important, he couldn't gain access to the cathedral.
The Church of the Transfiguration is the brainchild of mining magnate Stephen Roman, who built it in honour of the Soviet-era Slovaks who faced religious oppression. Consecrated by Pope John Paul II in the early stages of building, the church was designed by Donald Buttress, a renowned architect whose claim to fame is overhauling Westminster Abbey. Construction of the cathedral began in 1984, but, four years later, Mr. Roman died suddenly.
For the past few years, the cathedral has been the subject of dispute between Mr. Roman's daughter, Helen, and Bishop John Pazak, the leader of the Eparchy of Sts. Cyril and Methodius Canada. The sides still cannot agree over title of the church land and the 20 hectares surrounding it. The property belongs to the Roman Family Foundation, but the bishop, whose diocese reports to the Vatican, wanted the land to be titled to the Church.
Bishop Pazak did not wish to comment on the deadlock.
A year ago, the Bishop announced his final Mass; the locks were changed.
While residents like Josephine and Mr. Cuevas are getting restless, the subdivision isn't having problems selling properties. Hoping eventually to attract 15,000 residents, Cathedraltown has sold all of its Phase I properties and sources say that the second phase, which has just begun construction, is about 70% sold.
The real estate company, Fram Building Group, did not return a call for comment.
The majority of homeowners are Chinese, many of them people who make over a million dollars a year, said Trieu Huynh, an agent in the area. "There are lots of rich people here."
Several agents mentioned, however, that the house prices have dropped somewhere between 10% and 15% as a result of what some perceive as the project's slow completion. "They promised they'd enlarge the lake, but nothing has been done."
At the gated Woodbine Avenue entrance, a sign that reads "AST Security" now eclipses a hand-drawn portrait of the Pope consecrating the chapel. Its team now guards the area full-time.
"There are about five or so attempts to get in every week," said company vice-president Simon Path. "They ask why they can't get in, or why is it not functioning, or is there something supernatural going on."
One time a fleet of minivans parked near the church, and 20 or so occupants made a go at it, only to be removed by the five-person squad.
Martin Mahoney, the project's architectural design and marketing co-ordinator, is baffled by the perception that residents feel that entry to the cathedral is verboten.
"That's odd. There has never been no access to the cathedral," he said. "It's like any other church or cathedral. When there isn't an event going on, no one is allowed in."
Mr. Mahoney added that if someone wants to visit the church, they can call in advance. (Mr. Path confirmed that his teams have on occasion ushered guests in on this basis.) He also said that when he is there, he'll show people around. Baptisms have been performed there. Priests have been brought in for private Masses, he said.
He also stressed that the church is in constant state of evolution: intricate mosaics to apply, exterior maintenance to perform. Scaffolding is everywhere, so liability becomes an issue.
While creating a big, bold world-class cathedral, it can't always be open for prayer. "Not to say that these people are uneducated, but few understand how cathedrals work," he said. "We cannot commence this kind of work and have people in for worship. It's ludicrous."
In the meantime, Josephine still holds out hope that one day she might attend Mass in Cathedraltown.
"Yesterday the bell was ringing for hours," she said last week, referring to the peals, which the subdivision bills as the world's largest. "All the neighbours ran out into the streets wondering what happened. We'd be so happy if the fences would open."
