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.

The second week in 2021 will be The Protestant Reformation and the Catholic Response.  We will look at this complicated affair from a variety of angles (historical, political, theological, and even artistic), drawing on official Church documents from the Fifth Lateran Council and the Council of Trent as well as the lives of the saints from the period. We will address such enduring topics as the constant need for reform within the Church, the place of Scripture in the Church, the importance of our sacramental life, and the call to a deeper spiritual life, a life dedicated to the pursuit of holiness. These events triggered an outpouring of activity within the Church, a movement called the Counter-Reformation that has helped form the Church for the past five centuries. With a period so complex and interesting, the trouble is not figuring out what to talk about, but deciding what to leave out!

The first week will be July 5-9, and the second July 12-16.  In order to accommodate people from across the continent, classes will be at 11:00 a.m. EST, 1:15 p.m. EST, and 3:15 EST.  

Inspired by the restrictions of caused by the Covid-19 pandemic (some good comes out of viruses), the course will be available this year again both in person (according to the numbers permitted and in accord with rules for distancing at the time of the course) and online through Zoom. 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 who wish to attend the classes in person at the Oratory, please send your request to [email protected] Residence in the Seminary, however, will again not be available this year, nor will lunches be provided for those attending in person, but next year the new seminary residence should be available! The fee for the course is $150 per week.

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