Since 1984, the Oratory, through Saint Philip’s Seminary which it founded and runs, has been providing philosophical and theological education for students preparing for the Catholic priesthood.  Although the seminary helped fill an educational gap for seminarians, laypeople were requesting both high quality catechetical instruction and a continuing intellectual formation in their Catholic faith.  In 1989, the Oratory Theology Summer School was instituted to help satisfy that desire.

Each year, the first week of the Summer School is a systematic introduction to The Catechism of the Catholic Church.  The five-day course has three lectures per day that provide a solid foundation for navigating the Catechism on one’s own, either for personal reading or for use in home schooling, RCIA courses, or Catholic schools.  Although the course has been of great use to teachers and catechists, everyday Catholics find it accessible and intellectually nourishing.  Even high school students have taken the course with their families. A short preview is available below:

The second week of the Summer School changes from year to year, allowing students to come back for new material each year.  It is recommended that students take the first session before taking the second but not required.

And the second session addresses something that has become increasingly and painfully obvious: our world is in a mess. So much has happened, and happened so quickly. What does the Church do in response? What do we do? As so we will be looking at the topic EVANGELIZING THE MODERN WORLD. The Church has spent her history adjusting to the circumstances in which she finds herself. She continues to address new issues in light of the deposit of the faith, to inspire new artistic expressions, to raise up saints as examples to the world we live in, and to accommodate herself to methods of communication our electronic world seems to demand. The Church continues to prove that she transcends time and cultures.

The first week will be July 1-5, and the second July 8-12.  Lectures will be at 8:30 a.m., 11:00 a.m., and 1:15 p.m. EST, with Mass at 10:00 a.m. Lunch is provided for those attending in person.

The cost for each session, which includes lunch for the five days for those attending in person, will be $200 per person. For those who would like to avoid traveling each day, simple accommodation is available on a limited basis in the Oratory’s new Seminary Residence. The rooms are single, with shared bathrooms, and have access to simple cooking facilities and the Seminary Chapel (and the building is now air-conditioned—thank you, Renovatio!). The cost for a room is $100 per person, per week, and participants are responsible for bringing their own bedding for a single bed. (Still one of the great bargains of the Western World.) The course will also be available online. Those enrolled in the course can attend live through Zoom, and recordings will be made available for one week after the completion of the course to allow those whose schedules won’t allow them to attend live to watch the classes. For those attending only online, the cost for each session will be $175.

Registrations can be made using our mail-in form or online through Eventbrite. If you are paying by cheque, please make the cheque out to “The Oratory of St Philip Neri — Toronto”.

Previous topics for the Second Session