The Leonis Society is a community of Catholic men and women who share an existential desire to give everything of themselves to the mission of Christ in the world—to live as lay apostles, sharing the Good News with our neighbours, and bringing Gospel values to life in our society.
Recognizing our need for friendship and formation to fulfill this call, we gather monthly, both virtually and in person, for study and conversation about the teachings of the Church as they apply to our personal missions—in our careers, families, communities, and civic engagement.
The focus of our study is Catholic social doctrine and how we can practically actualize it in our work and wider society today, recognizing the central role laypeople must play in transforming the culture in accord with Gospel values.
Our mode of study is leisurely. Our reading is slow and steady: a careful engagement with our texts marked by prayerfulness and depth. We intend to spend many months on each book or reading, harvesting every intellectual and apostolic fruit from its pages in community with one another.
Beyond study, we seek the solidarity of a shared mission. Lay apostolate can feel lonely and out of place in the hyper-secularized atmosphere of contemporary society. But we weren't made for loneliness—we were made for community with each other, together experiencing the missionary joy which comes from going out of "our own comfort zone in order to reach all the peripheries in need of the light of the Gospel." (Pope Francis, Evangelii gaudium)
The telos of our friendship is to grow closer to Christ in communion with our fellow lay apostles, to understand His will for our lives, and to become more obedient to His call as received in the teachings of His Catholic Church. We seek to be formed and equipped to build the true, the good, and the beautiful—each in our unique ways—in a culture deeply in need of the Gospel.
A shining treasure of the Catholic tradition, this spiritual classic has inspired generations of Catholics with its profound message about the integral connection between a life of active, good works and the life of prayer. Living into this "tension" is crucial for Christian mission in the secular world.
"In this age of relentless activity it is easy for Christians, particularly those involved in good works, to fall into the pattern of the activist. But mere activity and material results are not sufficient for a successful apostolate. Dom Chautard demonstrates that the very foundation of all apostolic work must be the Interior Life. The apostle of Christ will grow to become an instrument and true channel of God’s graces to the world only through prayer, meditation and the cultivation of the Interior Life.
"When one is involved in works of spiritual or corporal charity, his work can only be truly efficacious when he anchors his Interior Life in Christ." (TAN Books)
Leonis Society members gather monthly, rotating between a virtual meeting via Zoom and an in-person gathering. These in-person meetings are an opportunity for fellowship and conversation, and will be hosted either at a member's home over potluck dinner, or at a restaurant or other establishment. Note that in-person meetings will take place in the City of Toronto. Meetings usually take place on the last Friday of each month (with some exceptions). See below for the full list of 2026 meeting dates:
January 29 (in-person)
February 27 (virtual)
March 27 (in-person)
April 24 (virtual)
May 29 (in-person)
June 26 (virtual)
—SUMMER BREAK—
September 25 (in-person)
October 30 (virtual)
November 27 (in-person)
Pope Leo XIII (1810-1903), born Vincenzo Gioacchino Pecci, served as the 256th pope from 1878 until his death and earned enduring recognition as the architect of modern Catholic social teaching. His groundbreaking 1891 encyclical Rerum Novarum ("Of New Things") directly addressed the plight of industrial workers and the ethical challenges of the new industrial economy, establishing with clarity the Church's commitment to the dignity of all people and workers' rights in the evolving circumstances of the modern economy. This seminal document condemned both unchecked capitalism and socialism while championing the dignity of labor, the right to fair wages that support a family, and other perennial themes in Catholic social doctrine. Leo XIII's profound intellectual legacy transformed the Catholic Church's engagement with contemporary social and economic questions, establishing principles that would guide papal teaching for generations to come. His vision of a Church actively concerned with temporal justice and human dignity laid the foundation for the entire corpus of Catholic social doctrine that followed, influencing countless encyclicals, movements, and institutions devoted to the pursuit of the common good.
Brendan Steven and Robin D'Souza have been collaborators in ministry for several years within the Archdiocese of Toronto, most especially as coordinators of the Lumen Gentium Forum—a nine-month fellowship program offering young, Catholic professionals intensive formation in Catholic social doctrine, virtuous leadership, and discernment of personal mission. Brendan and Robin created the Leonis Society in response to a growing desire they have witnessed among their peers for greater opportunities to be formed in the Church's social doctrine and more intentional equipping for the living out of a Christian mission in all aspects of life.
