Dear Parishioners,

On Tuesday of this past week I celebrate the funeral of Ken Lees, whom I anointed on the morning that he passed away. I prayed the last rites for him along with his wife of 45 years, Sharon, and their daughter Carolyn. We express our sympathy to them and to Carolyn’s two brothers, Christopher & Michael. Ken liked to sit in the front row of church when he was at Mass and sent his three children to our parish school here at St. Leo’s. He believed in giving them a solid education. Ken enjoyed family gatherings, especially at Thanksgiving & Christmas. His hobbies were classical cars & trains, and he also loved going to Disneyworld with his family. He kept up on what was new there & could tell you many things about that magical kingdom. We pray that he may now enjoy the eternal “magical” kingdom of God after a lifetime of faith and devotion to his family.

The following day I celebrated the Mass of Christian Burial for Joan Zuercher who was also a faithful participant at Mass when she was healthy and able. She had a devotion to her Guardian Angel and her funeral was appropriately celebrated on the feast of Sts. Joachim & Anne, the parents of the Blessed Virgin Mary and the grandparents of Jesus, for she was a devoted mother of 2 sons and a loving grandmother of 3 children. Joan lived a virtuous life, including volunteering at a clothing store for the needy. Her obituary said that “Joan was a warm, strong and independent woman whose kindness, honesty and spunk will live on forever.” May she indeed live on in God’s kingdom.

Here we are again in the final week of July already, entering the month of August in just a couple of days. Please remember that we will be having our annual parish picnic in a couple of weeks on Sunday, August 13th from Noon until 2pm. It’s a time for big, juicy hamburgers, hotdogs and other good food, to be enjoyed with your fellow parishioners. Please plan on joining us, rain or shine (we’ll be inside the gym in case of bad weather).

I had the joy of celebrating Mass a couple of times this past week at the outdoor grotto of Our Lady of Lourdes Shrine in Euclid, Ohio. Our eighth graders made a little pilgrimage there a few weeks ago. I have fond memories of being there often when I was younger, as it was a place my grandmother loved to visit. Take a ride there sometime & enjoy this sacred place of prayer. Here is the final bit of information I promised you last week about the Cathedral in downtown Cleveland: The tabernacle table was fashioned from an old baptismal font. The altar installed in 1948 features a pelican and the ambo has a sculpture of St. Stephen, deacon and martyr. In the sanctuary is the “cathedra” with seating for priests on both sides. Bishop Edward Malesic’s coat of arms is affixed to the cathedra, the literal & symbolic chair of the bishop. There is a beautiful icon there that was gifted to the diocese for its 150th anniversary by the Byzantine Eparchy of Parma. Inside the Resurrection Chapel are the tombs of two archbishops and eight bishops of the diocese as well as a full set of relics of St. Christine, a martyr in the early Church. You can visit the website of the Diocese of Cleveland at dioceseofcleveland.org in order to learn more about the cathedral and its history as well as take a virtual tour.

Fr. James P. Schmitz