St. Michael's Hospital

About Us

Urban Angel Story

For over a century, the statue of St. Michael the Archangel at St. Michael's Hospital has been recognized and loved as an inspirational symbol of hope and healing for patients and their families, as well as for those who work and volunteer at "Toronto's Urban Angel".

In 1997, the statue of St. Michael was moved from the hospital's Bond Street lobby, where it stood for many years, to a new location in the newly-constructed Victoria wing. As the heavy statue was carefully moved away from the wall by a professional moving team, the name "Pietrasanta" could be seen chiseled on the back of the statue. The marble for this statue had come from the same quarry in Italy as the marble Michaelangelo used for his famous Pieta. The artist and the date of creation of the statue are not known, nor are the details of how it made its way to Canada.

What we do know, however, is that shortly after the Sisters of St. Joseph founded St. Michael's Hospital in 1892, they found the dirty and blackened statue of St. Michael in a pawnshop on Queen Street.

After some vigorous negotiations with the owner of the shop, the Sisters agreed to pay $49 for the statue of St. Michael - money they had saved from selling old newspapers. Since that time, the St. Michael's statue has become an important symbol for everyone whose lives are touched through the mission of compassionate care, initiated by the Sisters of St. Joseph and now carried out at St. Michael's Hospital.

Each day, the spirit demonstrated by the Sisters of St. Joseph continues to be a source of inspiration at St. Michael's Hospital.