Immaculate Conception

On June 8th, 1974, the Church of Cleveland celebrated as Bishop Clarence G. Issenmann ordained 26 young men to the priesthood, one of whom was our own Fr. Michael B. Smith!  It seems like just yesterday, but 40 years of ministry have passed for these dedicated servants.  How does one mark a milestone like 40 years of ordination to the priesthood?  With a celebration, of course!  On June 8th, 2014, Pentecost Sunday, Fr. Mike celebrated the happy occasion with family, friends and the parish at the 11:00 am Mass followed by a reception in Waldeisen Hall.  It was a wonderful day as you can see.

Our preschool/daycare center recently welcomed some local heroes – human and canine.  Lenny, Bronson and Riggs, along with their human partners, came by to say hello and teach the children a thing or two about being a police officer.  We discovered that Bronson is the brother of the dog who plays “Bear” on the TV show “Person of Interest.”  We also discovered that Riggs’ partner, Officer Dan Metztger, is a son of the parish!  His grandfather owned Metgzer Pharmacy which was located on Kenmore Blvd. back in the day.  Dan was baptized, received his First Communion and was Confirmed at I.C.  The dogs and their owners live and work together and when the dogs retire, they live out their lives with their partner and his family.

If someone came up to you on April Fool’s Day and told you they saw a wild turkey on the the front porch of the rectory, you’d probably think they were playing a trick on you, BUT it’s true!  Our secretary opened the front door to check the mail and low and behold, there was a great big bird sitting on the steps.  She screamed in surprise, the bird jumped off the porch and began to stroll down 17th St.  Fortunately, we had a camera handy and captured these pictures as it walked 17th St. and then into the fenced in area at the far end of the property.  A check on the internet identified it as a wild turkey.  Every day brings new surprises!

On June 8th, Fr. Mike and his classmates will celebrate the 40th anniversary of their ordination to the priesthood!  Each year the Diocese of Cleveland hosts a Jubilee Mass for priests celebrating 65, 60, 50, 40 and 25 years of service.  This year the Mass was held at St. Basil the Great Church in Brecksville on Tuesday, May 20th.  The church was full of priests, family members and friends of the Jubilarians and the celebration was indeed beautiful and joyful.  Bishop Lennon was the celebrant for the Mass with Bishop Gries concelebrating; Bishop Pilla was also in attendance.  Fr. Joe Kraker, Pastor Emeritus, St. Vincent, Akron, and 50th anniversary Jubilarian, gave a wonderful  homily which reflected on 50 years of priesthood, changes in the church, hope, dreams and many blessings.  The Mass was followed by a luncheon for the Jubilarians and their invited guests.  Congratulations to those honored today and to all priests who have or will be celebrating anniversaries in the coming days and weeks.