St. Francis Xavier Church - Accessibility Addition, Alteration and Masonry Restoration

St. Francis Xavier Church has a special mission within the Archdiocese of Toronto. The rite of Perpetual Adoration of the Holy Sacrament is offered to parishioners and pilgrims 24/7 throughout the year. Typical of a church from the 1880’s, access to the church proper and lower hall was exclusively provided via stairs. This has been an obstacle for the mission, as offering universal access to the rite, the ageing parishioners, volunteers and church attendees is of utmost importance.

Cumulus’ assignment was the introduction of an accessible vestibule to the church that resolved these circulation obstacles and added a universal washroom to the facility. The new architecture preserved the dignity of the buildings address to Queen Street to the west. The existing front stairs were replaced with a new cascading design that incorporated proper exterior landing for the greeting of parishioners and guests by the clergy before and after mass.

Client: Archdiocese of Toronto