Faith-based retirement homes
Live in community with fellow believers
Find a list of retirement homes
Finding a retirement community where your faith is respected or valued can add a deeper layer of joy to your choice in senior living. Below, find a full list of retirement communities that are explicitly faith based. Faith-based is a generalized category, of course, and we offer more dedicated lists on our site:
List of faith-based retirement homes
Click here to refine this list
Baycrest Terraces
We are Toronto's Finest Kosher Retirement Residence. Located on the Baycrest campus in the heart of North York's Jewish community. Baycrest Terraces, "Where Life Thrives". Call us today for more information.
Lifestyle Options: Independent Living, Assisted Living, Memory Care
OPAL by Element
438 West King Edward Avenue, Vancouver, British Columbia V5Y 0M5 Opal offers a full continuum of support from Independent Living, Assisted living all the way to Complex Care, allowing the opportunity for aging in place.
Lifestyle Options: Independent Living, Assisted Living, Memory Care, Long-term care
Belmont House
A superb retirement home nestled in Toronto proper, featuring a variety of apartments and suites, along with a fitness room for active seniors, an on-site convenience store and more.
Lifestyle Options: Independent Living
The Village of Erin Meadows
Mississauga's unique continuum of care featuring a vibrant Main Street with Independent Living Suites, Retirement Apartments, Full Service Suites, Assisted Care, Memory Care and Long Term Care.
Lifestyle Options: Apartments, Independent Living, Assisted Living, Memory Care
Livita Barrington Retirement Residence
Nestled in a picturesque garden, Livita Barrington offers charming cottage living with amenities moments away. Our dedicated team know each unique resident, and provide a personalized approach that feels like home.
Lifestyle Options: Independent Living
Richmond Hill Retirement Residence
Richmond Hill Retirement Residence offers full service including meals, housekeeping, active adult, independent and assisted living. Our focus is on maintaining good health, great food, new friends & lots of laughter!
Lifestyle Options: Independent Living
Richmond Care Home
Richmond Care Home is a unique 16-unit retirement home specifically designed for women living with dementia. We offer cutting-edge exceptional memory care, that's very reasonably priced in an intimate home-like setting.
Lifestyle Options: Memory Care
Shepherd Terrace
Shepherd Terrace offers a variety of independent and assisted living suites within the renowned Shepherd Village. With its long history of providing caring service you’ll love the amenities and the excellent services.
Lifestyle Options: Independent Living, Assisted Living
Prince of Peace
Prince of Peace a variety of suites styles with kitchenettes and incredible mountain views. It's the perfect residence for seniors who are active, require some assistance, or have memory care needs.
Lifestyle Options: Independent Living, Assisted Living, Memory Care
Granville Gardens
Located in Vancouver’s Kerrisdale neighbourhood, Granville Gardens offers residents the opportunity to stay active and live in a well-appointed urban community, surrounded by shopping centres, parks, community centres.
Lifestyle Options: Independent Living, Assisted Living
Cavendish Manor Retirement Residence
Cavendish Manor is within walking distance to the Majestic Niagara Falls, the vibrancy of which can be felt within the walls of our charming retirement home, where a friendly community of seniors live in harmony.
Lifestyle Options: Independent Living, Assisted Living
Wintergreene Estates
At Wintergreene you'll discover a combination of independence, privacy, activities, health and wellness programs & friendly companionship to savour throughout your retirement.
Lifestyle Options: Apartments, Independent Living, Assisted Living, Memory Care
Four Elms Retirement Residence
Four Elms is an elegant Retirement Residence offering the finest in Senior Living. Choose a suite style that is perfect for you and enjoy an active lifestyle, fine dining and the company of good friends.
Lifestyle Options: Independent Living, Assisted Living
New Horizons Tower
From gracious dining to new suites and lounges, residents are enjoying the new management and upgrades found at 1140 Bloor Street West, in the Heart of Bloordale Village.
Lifestyle Options: Independent Living, Assisted Living, Memory Care
The Lodge at Valley Ridge
At The Lodge at Valley Ridge, you'll enjoy spacious suites, impressive cuisine, and exceptional services. We have recently renovated. We welcome the opportunity to show you our great community.
Lifestyle Options: Independent Living, Assisted Living
Forestview Retirement Residence
Forestview Retirement Residence is North York's newest seniors' residence. We offer Independent Lifestyle and Full Service Assisted Living Accommodations and Services, plus Short Term and Respite Stays.
Lifestyle Options: Independent Living, Assisted Living
The Meadows of Aurora
The Meadows of Aurora is a Christian Seniors Lifestyle Community that promotes the wellbeing of individuals 65+. Residents experience nature’s green spaces, memorable dining experiences and great times with friends.
Lifestyle Options: Active Living
Why a faith-based retirement home?
Here’s a look at advantages and what to expect in a faith-based retirement community:
- Weekly and daily religious observance is encouraged. If it’s your custom to pray before meals or to eat kosher daily, you may find such practices poorly understand in secular retirement homes. Unfortunately, in some environments, these practices might even be discouraged or disrespected. In any case, faith-based retirement homes encourage daily observance, and you are sure to find a group of friends who observe in much the same way as you do.
- Celebration of religious events. Celebration of specific holidays in a faith-based community will follow from the religions observed there. This is suitably comforting, of course, for those who celebrate Hannukah or Christmas. It’s nice to openly celebrate these times with friends your age in the community you have chosen. Celebration of many religious holidays can get “watered down” by some secular retirement homes. Those who feel that festivals have a specific meaning will find their beliefs honoured in a faith-based community. For Christians, for example, it can be deeply important that Jesus’ birth is observed at Christmastime or that the resurrection of Jesus is celebrated at Easter Time. In a faith-based retirement home, activities may be scheduled around church or synagogue time, so you won’t miss out. It’s nice to feel that respect for faith observances. In a secular community, for example, you may find things scheduled for Sunday morning without respect for the fact that this is a special time for you.
- Inclusion of or proximity to worship places. Many faith-based retirement homes may have a multi-purpose chapel where a variety of faith services can be held. Some communities are built close to affiliated churches or synagogues.
- Care staff may also share in your faith. In a faith-based community, there is the possibility of deeper compassion apparent in care, for sharing faith with fellow residents and with caregivers, including doctors and nurses on staff, all likely to share in the same faith as you, here.
- Opportunities to make new friends from your faith background.
- Prices and fees may be lower, especially if the community is non-profit.
One senior in a faith-based community
Ruth makes her home at one Christian retirement community in Toronto. She puts it simply: “My faith is very important to me, especially after I have had some health crises. And it’s very important to me that I am in a place where faith is important. We have a chapel here, a Bible study group, and it’s important that I can share my faith with others and have others share their faith – as well as their struggles.”
Cautions against focusing too much on faith
- Get the care you need. Many non-religious retirement homes offer exceptional care, of course. It should be every family’s top priority to get the proper care your loved one needs.
- Balance and understand your priorities. There are other typical priorities in the retirement home search such as proximity to family, cost, and level of care available. For example, some senior couples may want to move together under the same roof, in a continuing care community. The full continuum of care required by these couples may not be available in all faith based retirement communities. How do you measure these priorities against each other?
- Know what you’re getting into. Simply because a home is faith-based does not guarantee that it will be free of problems. Faith-based homes are not immune to personal conflict, maintenance problems and worse. This is a sad fact, but those narrowly focused on finding a community in their faith should bear this in mind.
Questions to ask faith-based communities
How well-qualified is care staff? Acquiring the proper care is the most important consideration in looking at a retirement home.
Are people encouraged or expected to participate in religious observances? Some people may be rightly cautious about communities where religious observation is assertively pushed by staff or others.
What are the true values that are apparent in the community?
Is there acceptance for people of other religious backgrounds, including those who are non-churched?
Are multiple faiths respected by the community (some communities above list both Jewish and Christian as an affiliation)?