Bishop Marrocco/Thomas Merton Catholic Secondary School
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This article needs additional citations for verification. (October 2009) |
| Bishop Marrocco/Thomas Merton Catholic Secondary School | |
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 To Think, To Pray, To Serve |
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| Address | |
| 1515 Bloor Street West Toronto, Ontario, M6P 1A3, Canada |
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| Coordinates | 43°39′23″N 79°27′04″W / 43.65639°N 79.45111°WCoordinates: 43°39′23″N 79°27′04″W / 43.65639°N 79.45111°W |
| Information | |
| School number | 545 / 691798 |
| School board | Toronto Catholic District School Board |
| Superintendent | Dr. Jim Saraco |
| Area trustee | Barbara Poplawski |
| Principal | Maria Pereira |
| Vice Principals | Rita Leone, Lisa McGukin |
| School type | Catholic High School |
| Grades | 9–12 |
| Team name | Marrocco-Merton Royals |
| Colours | Royal Blue and White |
| Founded | 1880 and 1986, amalgamated 1988 |
| Enrollment | 950 (2012-13) |
| Homepage | marroccomerton.com |
Bishop Marrocco/Thomas Merton Catholic Secondary School (referred to known as BMTMCSS, Bishop Marrocco/Thomas Merton, or simply Marrocco/Merton) is a Catholic secondary school located in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. The school is part of the Toronto Catholic District School Board and serves about 1000 students in grades 9 to 12.
The school is essentially a amalgamation of two set of independent schools, Bishop Francis Marrocco High School, and Thomas Merton Academy (formerly known as St. Joseph Commercial School).[1][2] It is one of the largest facilities in the TCDSB today with arts, and athletics focus.
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History [edit]
Namesake [edit]
Thomas Merton was an Anglo-American Catholic writer and mystic. A Trappist monk of the Abbey of Gethsemani, Kentucky, he was a poet, social activist, and student of comparative religion. In 1949, he was ordained to the priesthood and given the name Father Louis.[3][4][5]
Merton wrote more than 70 books, mostly on spirituality, social justice and a quiet pacifism, as well as scores of essays and reviews, including his best-selling autobiography, The Seven Storey Mountain (1948), which sent scores of World War II veterans, students, and even teen-agers flocking to monasteries across the US,[6][7] and was also featured in National Review's list of the 100 best non-fiction books of the century.[8] Merton was a keen proponent of interfaith understanding. He pioneered dialogue with prominent Asian spiritual figures, including the Dalai Lama, the Japanese writer D.T. Suzuki, and the Vietnamese monk Thich Nhat Hanh. Merton has also been the subject of several biographies.
Merton's influence has grown since his death and he is widely recognized as an important 20th-century Catholic mystic and thinker. Interest in his work contributed to a rise in spiritual exploration beginning in the 1960s and 1970s in the US. Merton's letters and diaries reveal the intensity with which their author focused on social justice issues, including the civil rights movement and proliferation of nuclear arms. He had prohibited their publication for 25 years after his death. Publication raised new interest in Merton's life.
Beginnings [edit]
The building and school yard was built in 1962 on a former railway yard. To the south, a shopping plaza was also built on the rail yards. At first, the building was a public high school named West Park Secondary. In the 1980s, with declining enrollment in the area and after the extension of full funding to Catholic schools, the building was transferred to the Catholic School Board.
Bishop Marrocco/Thomas Merton began as two distinctive schools. Thomas Merton Academy opened in 1880 as St. Joseph Commercial School founded by the Sisters of St. Joseph and was renamed in honor of Thomas Merton in 1985.[9] 106 years later in September 1986, Bishop Francis Marrocco High School opened in the same location, it was named after the Toronto Auxiliary Bishop who worked with Archbishop Pocock in the Archdiocese of Toronto's great efforts in the 1960s to extend the availability of Catholic secondary education. In September 1988, the school was finally opened with the amalgamation of the Marrocco and Merton schools.
Feeder Schools [edit]
- St. Helen's Catholic Elementary School, Brockton
- Holy Family Catholic Elementary School, Parkdale
- St. Vincent de Paul Catholic Elementary School
Notable Alumni [edit]
See also [edit]
References [edit]
- ^ [http://www.marroccomerton.com/info/about-marrocco-merton/
- ^ Chronological List of School Openings and Closings 1828-2006 - TCDSB
- ^ Reichardt, Mary R. (2004). Encyclopedia of Catholic Literature, Volume 2. Greenwood Press. p. 450. ISBN 0-313-32803-X.
- ^ Thomas Merton Collection - Thomas Merton Center, Bellarmine University.
- ^ "Chronology of Merton's life" - Thomas Merton Center, Bellarmine University.
- ^ "FICTION: 1949 BESTSELLERS: Non Fiction". TIME. Dec. 19, 1949. Retrieved May 25, 2010.
- ^ "Religion: The Mountain". TIME. April 11, 1949.
- ^ National Review's list of the 100 best non-fiction books of the century National Review website
- ^ http://www.umanitoba.ca/colleges/st_pauls/ccha/Back%20Issues/CCHA2006/Smyth.pdf
- Bishop Marrocco/Thomas Merton Catholic Secondary School. Toronto Catholic District School Board. Retrieved on 2008-03-16.
External links [edit]
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