Dear Parishioners,

I am preparing this column a few days before the Parish Festival but once again I want to thank everyone who was involved in the planning, execution, set up & clean up of those two days, as well as those of you who were able to attend. I always enjoy seeing so many of our parishioners in one place as I often forget that most of you come to the same Mass every weekend & so really only see one third or so of your fellow parishioners. I do hope that you too enjoy meeting & getting to know other members of the parish community through opportunities like the festival. I am very mindful of how much time and effort is involved in a community event like this so again, a big thank you to all who were present & offered yourself for the sake of others.

Many of you have commented on the beautiful statue we now have of St. Lucy which can be seen to the right of St. Francis as you enter the doors of the church by the rectory parking lot. We still need to get a pedestal for the statue but we had to put it in place when it arrived as it weighs about 1200 pounds, being made out of marble. I thought we could bless it on the feast of St. Lucy which is December 13th. May she pray for all those who have difficulty with their vision and for all of us that we may see more clearly through the eyes of faith.

I heard that Trapper Jack did a great job in sharing his thoughts and experiences of the Eucharist. I had to miss it as I was asked to visit a friend at the Cleveland Clinic at their main campus in downtown Cleveland which is quite an ordeal. But gratefully we had it live-streamed so I plan on watching that and invite you to do the same so look for that video on our website.

Congratulations to Christopher (CJ) Calvey and Lincoln Heidenreich, who are being baptized this Sunday. Lincoln is a second grader at our parish school and is currently preparing for his First Holy Communion in our Faith Formation Program. We are happy to have them and their parents with us here at St. Leo’s and we ask God’s blessing on them all as they become members of the Church and of our parish community.

This is 3 weeks into the future but on November 12th we will be celebrating the closing of our 75th Parish Anniversary year at the 11am Mass. Following Mass we invite you to join us for a catered meal over in Lux Hall, named of course after our founding Pastor, Father Sylvester Lux. If you use a walker or wheelchair, you can park in the new handicapped spaces available by the doors of Lux Hall and use the newly built ramp to enter the building. The meal will be catered through Stancatos and I was asked to choose a variety of foods that you might enjoy, with only one or two vegetable choices so as not to spoil a delicious meal. There will be plenty of food and again, quite a variety so we hope you come hungry. In order for us to know how many people to plan for, we are asking for reservations in advance at a low cost of $10 per person. So please let us know if you are able to join us. Further details will be available in the bulletin. But please mark your calendars now so you can be present for this closing event of our anniversary year.

We are in the process of advertising for a new Music Director so as we thank Mickey Stitt for her years of service here, I also thank those musicians and cantors who will be filling in, especially John Sabol who led our liturgical music a cappella last Saturday. Mary Piechowski will continue on as Associate Musician and we continue to be grateful to her & to the cantors & choir members who share their talents with us. As one musician told me, “St. Leo has joined the long list of parishes in the diocese searching for a music director.” So it may take a while before we have someone in place, but I’m confident we’ll find the right fit soon.

Fr. James P. Schmitz