St. Leo the Great Parish, Lincroft, NJ

PARISH HISTORY

Celebrating 50 Years ~ The Parish Community of St. Leo the Great

When the Garden State Parkway was extended south to Lincroft in the early fifties, it connected city to suburbs. The building boom that resulted brought many young families to this area. Many were Catholic, who not only needed a place to worship, but were also seeking a Catholic education for their children. The Diocese of Trenton obliged by purchasing two adjoining chicken farms with a total of 20.5 acres in the heart of the small village of Lincroft.

St. Leo the Great Parish was established in June 1958 when Reverend Arthur J. St. Laurent was appointed the founding pastor. Due to illness, however, he was unable to assume his duties until September of that year. Early parishioners attended St. Leo’s first Sunday Mass on July 26th in the Lincroft Public School. It was celebrated by Rev. Francis A. Crine, a native of the area. Thanks to the Middletown Township Board of Education, Masses continued to be celebrated in the public school until the church was completed several months later. On October 29, 1958, the first daily Mass was celebrated with thirty persons in attendance, after parish volunteers helped convert two rooms in the rectory (one of the original farmhouses) into a small chapel. To meet the spiritual and social needs of the three hundred and fifty families registered in the parish at that time, the Holy Name and Rosary-Altar Societies were formed and St. Leo’s was on the path of progress toward the development of the great parish it is today. Meetings were held in the rectory basement. Religious instructions for public grammar school children were held every Sunday after 8:00 a.m. Mass by the Sisters of Mercy from St. James School, Red Bank. Transportation was provided by the ladies of the Rosary-Altar Society. In May 1959, forty-four children received their First Holy Communion, another milestone for the new parish.

Plans were made to construct a building suitable for both church and school, and volunteers started a fund raising campaign in March 1959. The Sisters of St. Francis, Glen Riddle, Pa. agreed to provide teaching sisters for the September 1960 school year. On April 22, 1959, the school’s official groundbreaking took place. In November 1959, His Excellency the Most Rev. Bishop James J. Hogan officiated at the laying of the cornerstone of the new parish building. The Dedication and Blessing of the new St. Leo the Great Church/School took place in June 1960. Two months later, the parish welcomed its first teachers - four Sisters of St. Francis. The Sisters lived in four classrooms on the school’s second floor.

The school building officially opened in September 1960 with two hundred one students registered in Grades 1 through 4. Sister Loretta Marie, the principal, taught Grade 4; Mrs. Doris Bailey, Grade 3; Sister M. Fleurette, Grade 2; and Sisters M. Norbert and M. St. Pius, Grade 1. Grades were added each of the next four years.

The first graduation took place in June 1965 for fifty students. In September of that year, seven hundred students were greeted by a faculty of fourteen Sisters and lay teachers. Since Sr. Loretta Marie, our first principal, four others have followed: Sr. Laureen Francis, Sr. Adele, Sr. Maria, Elena Torregrossa, Elaine Berman and currently, Joanne Kowit.. In May 1961, the Sacrament of Confirmation was administered at St. Leo’s for the first time to one hundred youths. Just three years later, the class had increased to two hundred and fifty.

A parish house was built in December 1963 and used by the sexton and housekeeper, Mr. & Mrs. Thomas Kaney. In August 1964, Reverend George E. Deutsch assumed duties as first parish assistant. In later years, he was succeeded by Reverends Cioffi, Di Antonio, Brady and in 1973, Reverend William J. Bohnsack. Father Bohnsack also held the position of spiritual Director of the Holy Innocents Society of Monmouth County - a group that provides Christian Doctrine training for the handicapped.

In June 1964, construction began on a permanent residence for the Sisters. The school population had expanded greatly, and the four rooms on the second floor were needed to accommodate our full complement of eight grades. The convent was designed to house sixteen Sisters and it was completed the following June.

In the early 80's we saw a tremendous surge in the parish population bringing it to over 1,000 families. One of our new families were the Carraghers who resided in Luftman Towers. Mr. William Carragher had been ordained a Deacon in the Archdiocese of Newark and proved to be a great help with the growing number of parishioners.

In August 1980, the founding pastor, Father St. Laurent, who had been ailing for some time, died. His assistant, Father Bohnsack was appointed pastor in September.

Recognizing the enormous growth and the need for change, he immediately restructured the parish’s societies. An outstanding motivator, he also conducted workdays with parishioners volunteering to paint, plant, scrub and do whatever needed to be done around the grounds.

In 1981, Sister Celeste, a former teacher, returned to us after a ten year absence, seven of which were spent as Assistant Formation Director at the Mother House in Glen Riddle, to become a parish assistant. With the increase in staff and sensing continued growth, Father Bohnsack, in 1982, moved into the parish house, converted the rectory into a convent and the convent into a Parish Center to serve the ever expanding parish activities. The picnic area, playground and softball field behind the rectory were also built to foster community in a natural setting.

On May 18, 1984, one of the parishioners and former trustee, Robert Nimon, was ordained a Deacon. Always active and involved in community and church affairs, he has not only provided assistance and continuity to the parish, but has been a friend to all.

A burgeoning Lincroft Catholic population triggered discussions about a new church; but Father Bohnsack was unable to gain approval from the Diocese. As a result, plans were made to renovate the existing church. A fund-raising drive followed that proved enormously successful and renovations were soon completed. Father Bohnsack designed the stained glass windows and new entrance for the renovated church that was dedicated in June 1983.

After five years as pastor, Father Bohnsack died suddenly on August 4, 1985. His untimely passing was a shock. He was universally loved and admired by the St. Leo parish family.

On September 13, 1985, Rev. James M. Clark was installed. Like Father Bohnsack, he sensed the parish’s continuing needs. Among his first accomplishments during this period was the completion of the Parish Center Chapel renovation. This project, begun by the St. Joseph Society prior to Father Bohnsack’s death, was finished and the chapel, now used for daily liturgies and prayer services, was dedicated to his memory.

On May 8, 1999, Joseph DePaolis was ordained a Deacon. His ministries include Liturgical Ministers, Altar Servers, and Chair of the St. Joseph's Society.

Celebration for the Renew 2000 Program (now called Renew) which began in 1998 was held on January 20, 2001. There were twenty groups of ten to fifteen parishioners who met for six weeks in Lent and Advent in 1998/1999 in preparation for the Great Jubilee Year 2000. Will & Sue Wei acted as Chairpersons. Also in 2001, Lucy Campanella, long time parishioner, began offering Spiritual Direction to our parishioners. On September 15th there were 45 of our parishioners who made the Pilgrimage to the National Shrine of the Immaculate Conception in Washington D.C.

Another major accomplishment was the addition of the new school wing, which opened September 5, 2001. On January 27, 2002 the new wing of the School was dedicated by Bishop John M. Smith.

Rev. Eugene Vavrick, who was assigned as the Chaplain of St. john Vianney High School in Holmdel, was a weekend assistant and in residence here at St. Leo's.

Fr. Joseph M. Quinlan celebrated his 50th Anniversary of Ordination to the Priesthood on June 2, 2002 and on September 29th, Fr. Clark celebrated his 30th Anniversary of Ordination.

After battling cancer for over a year, Father Clark passed away on February 24, 2003.

In May of 2003, we welcomed our new Pastor, Rev. Leonard P. Lang, who has come to us from Holy Spirit Parish in Asbury Park. He was the Pastor there for over twelve years.

As of July of 2004 Fr. Gene Vavrick was re-assigned to St. Martha's in Point Pleasant and, we were assigned a new Associate Pastor, Rev. Mark Devlin, who was with us for less than a year. He was transferred to another area parish in the Diocese.

In October of 2004, Nancy Daluise, Director of Religious Education, retired after 17 years of devoted service. In November of that year, Margaret Lang, who had been an Assistant Director was appointed Director of Religious Ed.

Rev. David Adams replaced Fr. Mark as the Parochial Vicar in March of 2005. Elena Torregrossa, Principal of our school, retired in April of 2005 after 23 years as a teacher and principal. Elaine Berman was appointed as her successor.

Fr. Leonard Lang celebrated his 30th Anniversary of Ordination to the Priesthood in May of 2005. In December of 2005, Mary Ahern was commissioned as a Lay Ecclesial Minister at the Cathedral in Trenton. Mary is the first to be commissioned for this new ministry in our Parish.

In 2006 the Diocese of Trenton celebrated 125 years of service with a variety of events throughout the year.

March 20-25, 2006 15 parishioners traveled to New Orleans to clean and rebuild homes for those who had been affected by Hurricane Katrina. The Sisters of St. Francis of Philadelphia financed the trip.

On June 11, 2006 the Children's Liturgy of the Word (CLOW) was started at the 8:30 a.m. Masses. Patricia Hicks coordinated the program. This proved to be so successful that they included the program in at the 10:00 a.m. Masses.

On June 26, 2006, Fr. Dave passed away suddenly and is now in the hands of God.

On September 8, 2006, we were assigned an adjunct priest, Rev. Gerald Johnson (AKA Rev. Selvam J. Asirvatham) who is from India. Father Gerald has been in the United States since September of 2003 and is looking forward to continuing his ministry with us here at St. Leo's.

October 12-17, 2006 a second group of parishioners (13) worked in new Orleans to rebuild homes for Katrina victims. The expenses for the trip were again donated the the Sister of St. Francis.

In March of 2007, a committee was formed to prepare for our Parish's 50th Anniversary in June of 2008. In July of that year, in celebration of Bishop John Smith's 10th Anniversary, Sr. Joan Dreisbach received the Nostrum Ecclesiam Tempus Award at the Cathedral in Trenton. We also celebrated the first annual Mass for students returning to college and for those leaving for college for the first time.

Due to restructuring of the Diocese of Trenton in recent months, all parishes were asked to form Parish Leadership Teams. Our Parish Representatives and Leadership team met for the first time in September of 2007 for the Diocesan Deanery Study. In the fall of 2007, the School held its first annual Fall Family Festival. In December, Margaret Lang, Director of Religious Ed. was commissioned by Bishop Smith as a Lay Ecclesial Minister at the Cathedral in Trenton.

We begin the 2008 year with celebrating our 50th Anniversary as a Parish. There are many exciting events planned - For example: April 26th we will be having our 50th Anniversary Gala with a cocktail hour - open bar - dinner - dancing - prize raffle. On June 1st we will be having a special celebration Mass with Bishop Smith as the Celebrant. We are looking forward to the excitement of our 50th year.

dated May, 2008