Safety in Numbers

Week One Hundred and Sixteen - Saint Leo the Great

10:30 Sunday morning mass, St. Leo.  We interrupt our regularly scheduled series to bring you the 125th anniversary of St. Leo the Great Parish!  Being the big baby that I am about location-location-location, I didn't think The Tour would ever stop at St. Leo in Fairmount, but when I heard about their 125th anniversary mass and celebration, I knew it was the perfect opportunity for a visit.  As a bonus, my dad attended grade school at St. Leo's.  He would have been 84 this week, so Dad, this one's for you.

My husband and I arrived early for mass at St. Leo which was a good thing.  We found a nice parking spot on the street and, more significantly, one of the last remaining seats in the church - it was packed.  These were clearly the people my dad had gone to school with - now-senior men and women who had grown up in the area.  I couldn't help but eavesdrop on the conversations around me, an ongoing litany of "who's-that-over-there" to the more sobering "so-and-so-passed-away" to discussions about the appearance of the church itself - the new lights, the "removal of the side pews."  It was fun listening to them reconnect in a church that was now so different from the one they remember - different in several ways.

Never having been in St. Leo's church before Sunday, I don't know what changes or renovations have taken place over the years, but I'm assuming there were several, including many fairly recent in preparation for this very weekend.  My husband noticed a lingering odor of fresh paint, and the program for Sunday's liturgy thanked several individuals and businesses for their assistance with other projects - pew repair and varnishing, new sanctuary carpeting, new concrete steps in the front of the church - all for the anniversary.  The result was a church that, while not perfect, looked pretty darn good for 125.

Beyond the physical changes in the church, however, the more significant differences lie in the parish population.  The majority of Sunday's congregation was a white, middle-class, suburbanite crowd, an exception at St. Leo.  St. Leo works with Mother of Christ in Winton Hills and Saint Bernard in Spring Grove Village.  As a result, their congregation is a melting pot of African-Americans, Caucasians, Hispanics, and Burundians.  Low income is the common denominator.  The immigrants often work for minimum wage, and many rely on federal assistance to meet their needs.  The St. Leo Food Pantry is well known in the area.  The church meets the challenges of the language barriers of its members with masses celebrated in their native languages and with volunteers who teach English to new parishioners.  Even at this mass, the opening song was in Spanish, as was the first reading, the second reading was in Kirundi, the native language of Burundi, and three homilies were delivered - one in English, one in Spanish, and one in Kirundi.  The communion song was performed by the church's Burundian Choir.  It. Was. Wonderful.

Going into this mass, I knew we were in for the long haul, but to be honest, after an hour and fifty minutes - yes, you read that right - even I was a bit taken aback.  Five concelebrating priests, incense, holy water, the works - we definitely got our money's worth.  Surprisingly, however, I didn't feel like we were there that long.  In fact, it seemed shorter than some of the masses I've been to in recent weeks.  It may have been the novelty of being in my dad's old church or maybe it was the festive atmosphere, but I think it was something more.  St. Leo's seems to have a definite spirit, a spirit of perseverence . . . and joy.  This is what a church should be.  My husband ran into one of his coworkers at the mass.  A member of the aforementioned white, middle-class, suburban demographic, she told us how, although she and her family belong to another parish, they attend mass quite frequently at St. Leo - her son even made his First Communion there.  Her enthusiasm about that personal celebration ("We sang a song in Swahili at my son's First Communion!  It was awesome!") as well as St. Leo in general was palpable.  Realistically, I still don't see myself returning to St. Leo on a regular basis, but it will definitely linger in my thoughts.  It's a good one.


Don't even bother looking for me next week.  The whole gang will be here!  Things to do. Birthdays to celebrate.  Love that.

ATTENDANCE:  Full . . . for a special occasion

DURATION:  One hour and fifty minutes . . . for a special occasion (And can we give it up for My Husband the Heathen who sat through the whole thing and never complained once?!)