St. Leonard Catholic Church

To love, serve and reach out to our parish family and the surrounding community by living and celebrating the life of Christ

Returning to Full Capacity:

St. Leonard Church, Heath, OH

Effective June 5-6, 2021

The Bishops of Ohio are lifting the dispensation of attendance at Sunday Mass. Beginning the weekend of June 5-6, 2021 – the Feast of the Body and Blood of Christ – the obligation to attend Sunday Mass and Holy Days of Obligation becomes mandatory. Masses that are broadcast through various media are not intended as a substitute nor do they fulfill the obligation for the persons who are able to gather for a Sunday celebration and other Holy Days of Obligation. We will continue to live stream Masses for those who homebound, ill or for some serious reason are unable to attend in person.

While Governor DeWine has lifted all required medical restrictions for the State of Ohio, individual businesses/organizations are permitted to continue use of some or all of them. So, some things that have been in place as cautionary practices will continue for the time being.

To implement the expectations of the Diocese and the people of God who attend OLMC and St. Leonard’s and to still “err on the side of caution” these shifts (we all hate changes) will go into effect beginning the weekend of June 5-6, 2021.

1) For the time being, I am asking all those who attend Mass at our sister parishes to continue wearing masks and sanitizing their hands upon entering the church especially if you have not received a vaccination. This has been the policy for the Diocese all along and will continue to be the case. I and all ministers at the altar and Eucharistic Ministers will be doing so. I am also asking music ministers to do the same, except when they are leading the singing.

2) We will continue to distribute Holy Communion, as we have been, with the ministers coming out the congregation for the time being. We will not be distributing the Precious Blood until further notice.

3) We will reinstate the Exchange of Peace but only with “safe” exchanges such as nods, waves, “fist bumps” and/or verbal exchanges unless it with those whom you have in your “party”.

4) We will not yet have Holy Water in the fonts. If you wish to have Holy Water for personal/home use, please contact the office or someone in the Sacristy and it will be made available for you.

5) Missalettes will be placed in the pews. If you require a print-out of the hymns, a very few will be printed out each week, but note, these will be phased out. If you have your own missalette, please continue to bring it back and forth as you have been.

6) Confessions will regularly be held Saturdays prior to Mass: 4:44 pm – 5:15 pm.

7) Entry to the church will continue to be only through the Main Door. You may exit by that way or the “Classroom Door”. NOTE: The Classroom Door will be kept locked so you will not be able to re-enter by that door.

8) We will continue to keep the ribbons on alternating pews as we currently have. The ribbons in the middle of the longer pews will be removed. Currently, there are around 150 spaces available for seating; we have not yet reached that number in Sunday attendance. The remaining ribbons may be removed as necessary for larger families or groups. As attendance increases or other recommendations come to us we will remove the remaining ribbons.

I encourage everyone to receive a vaccination against Covid-19 and its variants. It is recommended also by Bishop Brennan and the Bishops of Ohio. It is not immoral and considered to be properly moral to receive one as it not only helps the individual but also the whole of the community to be protected from this deadly pandemic.

Revised: May 25, 2021 – Fr. William Hritsko, Pastor

Fr. Gribble  celebrates the 40th Anniversary of Priesthood this weekend May 15 -16th.  You may send  cards either to St. Leonard Church, 57 Dorsey Mill Road, Heath, Ohio 43056 or to his home address at 13644 Juniper Road, NE, Thornville, Ohio 43076. We thank him for his 40 years of service in all the churches that he has served. He has been a blessing to so many!

May 17th – a special day for Deacon Larry and Fr. Bill: On May 17th, Deacon Larry  celebrated his 18th Anniversry in being a Deacon, and Fr. Bill  celebrated his birthday. 

St. Leonard Masses now available for viewing on YouTube

Please watch St. Leonard's weekly Mass video recordings. The link to YouTube is listed below. Click on each weekly Mass to view. https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCzrP3h-vm9LhLfHYQtfRXaA

Click on the link to the St. Leonard Facebook Page here:

https://www.facebook.com/stleonardheathohio 

Tune in to St. Gabriel Catholic radio programs at 820 AM.

Live stream daily Mass at St. Joseph Cathedral in Columbus at 12:05 pm.

Live stream Sunday Mass at St. Joseph Cathedral in Columbus at 10:30 am. 

Use this Link for Cathedral Masses and Columbus Diocese information- https://www.columbuscatholic.org