Linda DeBaltzo & her husband Gerry have been attending daily Mass since I arrived at St. Leo’s. Sadly, Linda passed away after 53 years of marriage to Gerry. I was able to pray the last rites for her in the hospital and how appropriate it was for her family and loved ones to celebrate her Funeral Mass as celebrating the Eucharist is what she and Gerry did every day. I learned that Linda had converted to Catholicism before she was married to Gerry at St. Boniface and she lived her Catholic faith well. Linda was the first female letter carrier in Cleveland and that is how she & her husband met. They had 2 children, Larry & Lisa, and then grandchildren and a great-grandchild as well. I pledged the prayerful support of the parish to Gerry so please keep him and Linda in your prayers.
Our school children had their last day on Wednesday of last week. And so the summer officially begins. I look forward to joining my family in Florida next month & hope you are able to take advantage of the nice weather and find time to relax & enjoy these summer months.
We’ll be having another discussion of the book “Forming Intentional Disciples” using Zoom this Monday, June 14th from 6:30-7:30pm. Our discussions have been interesting & informative and you are welcomed to join us, if only to listen in. We still have some (free) books available for you if you are interested in reading it so please stop by the rectory office to pick one (or more) up. You can connect with us on Zoom using the link that will be on our website (leothegreat.org).
Thanks to John & Jeannie Sabol who have updated the archives display in the vestibule of the church. It reflects the summer season and includes news clippings mentioning St. Leo parish. There’s an interesting article which mentions St. Leo’s as one of the first locations in the county to offer the Salk Polio vaccine…certainly a relevant topic for us these days. It is from the year 1955. Do any of you remember getting the polio vaccine? I remember getting the TB shot when in elementary school because my mother had tuberculosis when she was in high school (her father died from TB at the age of 42). Thank God for scientists and those in the medical profession who have learned how to protect us from such things that can kill so many.
I failed to mention a couple weeks ago that it was Deacon Pat’s anniversary of ordination on May 20th. So please congratulate him and thank him & Joan for their presence and tremendous help to me and to the parish. It is a real pleasure to have them back at St. Leo’s & for me to minister with them. And Deacon Pat thought he was going to retire…
I want to resume offering the opportunity for you to celebrate the Sacrament of Reconciliation but I’m looking at how we can make it more convenient to you. Saturday afternoon confessions came about in the days before there were any Vigil Masses on Saturdays. It may be inconvenient for you to come to confession on Saturday if you attend Mass on Sunday, and I like to have time to visit with people before each of the weekend Masses. So for now, I’ll hear confessions from 3pm until 3:30pm on Saturdays and from 10:00am until 10:30am on Sundays. You can always ask me to hear your confession before or after Mass so please don’t hesitate to do so. We’ll try this for now & then adjust the schedule accordingly.
4940 Broadview Rd.
Cleveland OH 44109
216-661-1006
Roman Catholic Church
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Pastor's Blog
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