Welcome to St. Leonard

Our mission trip to Knoxville, Tennessee was an incredible week full of faith, friendship and serving others. Early in the morning of June 21, 2026, 10 adults and 45 teens and young adults headed out from St. Leonard and made the trip to Knoxville Catholic High School. From the moment we arrived we jumped right into the Catholic Heart Workcamp experience: serving others, growing in our faith and praising God together. Throughout the week, we teamed up with teens and adults from Kentucky, Georgia, North Carolina, Indiana, Minnesota, Illinois, Wisconsin and Connecticut to serve the Knoxville community. Some of us volunteered with Knox Area Rescue Ministries (KARM), helping in their clothing stores, food pantries and homeless shelters. Others worked with Operation Backyard painting homes, making minor repairs and building wheelchair ramps for people in need. We were also grateful for cooler-than-usual weather, which made the work a little easier. Each day started with Mass and prayer, helping us focus on the work ahead. We saw God's love in so many ways: through our team, the people we served and even the simple conversations we shared. It was a great reminder that small acts of kindness can make a big difference. The week wasn't just about serving others; it was also a time for us to grow in our own faith. We learned to trust God in new ways, spent an evening in Adoration of the Blessed Sacrament, took part in a moving foot-washing service and shared many meaningful moments of prayer together. We're so thankful to everyone who supported this trip with prayers, donations and encouragement. Your generosity made this mission possible and gave us the opportunity to share Christ's love with the people of Knoxville. As we return home, we're bringing back more than great memories. We have a renewed commitment to keep serving right here in our own community. Mission work doesn't end when the trip is over, it continues every day as we look for ways to love our neighbors and share God's grace wherever we are. Please continue to pray for the ministries in Knoxville, the people we were blessed to serve, and for our youth as they continue living out the lessons God taught us during this unforgettable week.

As many of you are aware we now pray the Divine Mercy Chaplet after every Mass on the fourth weekend of every month (a ten minute prayer). Are you also aware of why we say the prayer, and where it came from? Like the Our Father, this prayer came directly from Jesus himself in appearances to St. Faustina, who he commissioned to spread the prayer, image and devotion worldwide. Jesus asked St. Faustina to paint an image of himself as he appeared to her. This is the image that appears on the prayer cards and pictures we see today. In this Divine Mercy image the pale ray stands for the water which makes us righteous, and the red ray stands for the blood which is the life of souls. These two rays came from the very depth of his Mercy when his agonized heart was opened by a lance on the cross. He promised that those who venerate this image will not perish.