Students from Toronto's Neil McNeil High School have brought their school’s long-lost chapel back to life, completing the story of a sacred space that has been woven into the very identity of the all-boys' Catholic school for decades. 

Nov. 28 marked the Solemn Dedication of Neil McNeil’s Chapel of the Holy Spirit, where Toronto Auxiliary Bishop John Boissonneau, a school alumnus, celebrated Mass in the newly formed chapel with staff and students. 

The project marked more than 10 years of commitment from Mary Teresi, chaplain and head of Neil McNeil’s religion department, to restore the sanctuary. She explained that upon her arrival in 2013, the school founded in 1958 no longer had a dedicated chapel within its walls. 

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“McNeil had the Spiritans at the time living next door to the school (at Laval House) and the principal at the time decided to turn the chapel into a classroom and put up a false wall so we hadn't had a chapel for quite a long time. When Laval House was sold to the TCDSB, it was taken down and we had zero access to the chapel at all,” Teresi explained. 

Even with the need for the once-hidden chapel to return to its former status as a place of worship for students taking high priority, it wasn’t until Sandra Mudryj’s arrival as principal in 2023 that concrete plans were formed. 

“When Sandra came her first comment was asking us, ‘Where is the chapel in our school?’ That’s when we had students join the A-Team through the Angel Foundation for Learning to try and get some funding to assist us in bringing the chapel back to our school,” Teresi said. 

In doing so, a remarkable story about the former chapel was uncovered with the help of the Brotherhood Leadership students. As the legend goes, the original chapel housed the Mural of the Four Evangelists, done by artist William McElcheran. His mural was initiated in the summer of 1972 but was never fully completed, as McElcheran received the opportunity to establish an atelier near Florence, Italy, in Pietrasanta. It was there the sculptures he produced would become iconic. Many of his works have been seen in prominent locations throughout downtown Toronto such as Nathan Phillips Square and Queen’s Park. 

“The Spiritan Fathers decided to leave the mural unfinished as they thought it was a perfect representation of our students, who are always a work in progress,” Teresi said.

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“Even this past June, students were still in (the unfinished chapel) writing exams. We have been told that the mural did exist still behind that false wall, and so we knew we needed to get to work on restoring that space,” Mudryj added. 

What followed was months of extensive research and planning from the Brotherhood Leadership team, composed of 25 students from Grades 10-12. Their passion for the restoration saw them recognized by the Catholic Education Foundation of Ontario and granted funding for the project through the Michael Carty Award last October.

The major construction didn’t take long to get underway and despite the short timeframe, Mudryj emphasized the importance staff and students alike felt as the chapel was primed for its second life. 

“I met with many of the carpenters, electricians, plumbers and supervisors, all of whom were really excited about this because, in the course of their day-to-day work, they have never had an opportunity to do something like this that has this big of a lasting impact on the school,” she said. “Most students will pass by it at least once or twice a day and so it is a very visible sign of our faith. We already had a blessing of the chapel, our first staff Mass there and we are looking forward to having our chaplain bring students in there to better understand the history of it soon.” 

The new chapel features a multitude of personal touches that showcase the historic past of Neil McNeil, including the Spiritan father’s altar and the Stations of the Cross from Laval House, Eucharist presence in the Tabernacle set to be cared for by Fr. Joshua Roldan, and original Catholic artwork from former student Benjamin Nero titled The Face of God. The iconic mural will remain unfinished as intended, an example of the ever-evolving journey of education and self-discovery each student undertakes at the school. 

The chapel is now officially open and the recent dedication featured many graduates who have gone on to join the priesthood, including Fr. Joe Kelly, Fr. Obinna Ifeanyi, Fr. Xavier De Pinto and Fr. Larry Marcille. All were led to sing Neil McNeil’s school song by the Brotherhood Leadership students, a moment that acted as a poignant symbol of the school’s past and present coming together to celebrate their shared faith. 

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Both Teresi and Mudryj can attest to the chapel's nearly instant impact on students. The chaplain labels the restoration project as a benchmark for the school’s unending growth and unity. 

“Students would pop in and they were just amazed. I can't tell you how many times a day students would ask me before it was officially open, ‘Can I just come in and sit?’ None of us really realized what was missing until it was there and now that it’s being utilized, students are gravitating to it and they want to be present in that space,” she said.