In last weekend’s column I started to tell you about the Heart of a Shepherd Campaign that is taking place right now in the Diocese of Cleveland. I pointed out that all of our ministers in the Church, from Pastoral Ministers to Permanent Deacons to Priests are prepared at the Center for Pastoral Leadership in Wickliffe (about 25 minutes east from here). Our two seminaries, Borromeo College Seminary & St. Mary Seminary, are both housed on this campus. Borromeo is a four year liberal arts college seminary where men discern a possible vocation to the priesthood. St. Mary Seminary is a five-year program called a “major” seminary because it is there that a man is formed for priesthood through an academic and “field education” program. A seminarian at St. Mary undergoes 5 years of academic work and experiences ministry as he is assigned to parishes and to other Catholic institutions for several months. I spoke of how blessed we are in the Diocese of Cleveland to have our own seminary system as it allows our seminarians to learn about our own parishes and Catholic institutions and allows them to get to know the other clergy and lay ministers whom they will be working alongside with after they are ordained.
However the buildings on this campus are in great need of being updated and remodeled and so a campaign was started to address this need. Called “Heart of a Shepherd,” it seeks the financial and prayerful support of the parishes in this diocese. We had the option to raise money through a pledge appeal, but I chose instead the option to simply donate a percentage (15%) of our annual contributions over a three-year period. So we will pledge a total of about $66,000, which amounts to a yearly contribution of $22,000 for three years. I felt that this was a better option than seeking individual pledges from you which would have taken more time away from my ministry as the only priest here at St. Leo’s and which would have also asked each of you to consider an individual pledge over a three year period (or a one-time contribution). I myself have made such an individual pledge but I did not want to impose that on you since many in our parish are on a fixed income and this would have been a challenge for you to commit to. I am also so grateful to you for your continued financial support each week, which you so generously continued even during the long pandemic. A more thorough financial report will be given to the parish this fall but we continue to meet our annual budget thanks to your continued generosity.
If you would like more information about the Heart of a Shepherd Campaign, you can visit here and even make your own personal pledge in addition to our parish pledge: https://www.catholiccommunity.org/heart-of-a-shepherd/campaign-overview. This link will also be highlighted on our parish website at leothegreat.org.
This weekend I am flying to Key West where I am joining my 3 sisters and their 10 “children” (my adult nieces & nephews) for a week-long family vacation. It’s our post-COVID family reunion and my sister in Fort Meyers was able to reserve condos right next to each other for us to stay. We look forward to eating at many different restaurants & to enjoying things like jet-skiing & site-seeing while there together. I won’t be returning until late next Saturday so the plan is to have Fr. Vesely celebrate the 4pm Mass next Saturday, July 17th. It’s been a long time since he’s been able to join us so I’m sure you will enjoy seeing him and he will be anxious to see you as well.