St. Leonard Catholic Church Celebrates First Communions Spring 2025
Lisa Jachimiec • May 14, 2025
Three weekends in May, St. Leonard Catholic Church joyfully celebrates First Holy Communion with 44 young parishioners receiving the Blessed Sacrament for the first time. This marks a significant milestone in the lives of these children and their families, as they take an important step forward in their faith journeys. Months of preparation through school and religious education classes, retreats and family activities have helped the children understand the Real Presence of Jesus in the Eucharist and the sacredness of this sacrament.
The First Communion Masses are filled with reverence, beauty and joy. Family members, friends, catechists and parishioners gather to witness this holy moment. Communicants all have a role in the Masses and Father John Cella helps the children understand receiving the Eucharist is not just a one-time event but a lifelong relationship with Jesus Christ. His words serve as a powerful reminder of the importance of nurturing faith at home and in the broader parish community.
Behind the scenes, much effort and dedication has gone into preparing for this special day. School teachers, catechists and volunteers worked diligently with the children, helping them grow in understanding and love for the Eucharist. Parents have played a vital role as the primary teachers of the faith, supporting their children through prayer, discussion and example. The entire parish community has contributed through prayer and support, making this event a true celebration of faith and unity.
Our St. Leonard community rejoices with these young disciples and their families. These celebrations serve as a reminder of the central role of the Eucharist in Catholic life and the importance of ongoing faith formation. As these 44 children continue their spiritual journeys, the parish remains committed to nurturing their love for Christ and encouraging full participation in the sacramental life of the Church.
Congratulations to all of our First Communicants this year!
Dear Fr. Dan, On behalf of the entire St. Leonard parish community, we want to express our heartfelt gratitude for your 13 years of faithful, joyful, and inspiring leadership as our pastor. Your strong and steady presence, combined with your warm personality and deep faith, has truly transformed our parish. Under your guidance, St. Leonard has become not only a more vibrant and welcoming faith community, but one that is stronger in every way- physically, spiritually, and emotionally. Physically, just look around- St. Leonard looks like a church now! The remodeled worship area, beautiful new gathering space, completely new chapel, and peaceful meditation garden have brought new life to our parish grounds. Add to that the numerous updates throughout the school, the new columbarium, and the additional major projects that are already in progress- and fully paid for- and it’s clear we are thriving. These changes reflect the health and vitality of our community under your leadership. Financially, we are strong and on our way to tithing as a parish, truly living out our mission to give generously and faithfully. Spiritually, we’ve grown in incredible ways. St. Leonard is drawing new families, and young parents feel welcome bringing their children into a nurturing, active faith community. More and more parishioners are engaging with Bible studies, the men’s group, community outreach, and opportunities to deepen their understanding of the Catholic faith. Since you arrived, daily Mass attendance has risen, Eucharistic Adoration is now held twice weekly, and Holy Hours have become a regular and meaningful part of our parish life. You’ve helped us embrace the grace of the sacrament of Reconciliation with deeper understanding, and above all, you've reminded us that the Holy Spirit is alive and working in Muskego. Fr. Dan, you have been a true conduit of that Spirit- bringing the message of Christ’s love, mercy, and joy to our parish. Your leadership has changed lives. Our lives are better because of you. With our deepest gratitude and many prayers for the journey ahead, The St. Leonard Catholic Church Community Muskego, WI
Pope Francis' death on Easter Monday (April 21, 2025) sets in motion a weeks-long series of events, from a period of mourning to the process of selecting his successor. The Vatican has an intricate set of rules governing the papal transition, a process the world does not get to watch unfold very often. Several Vatican officials’ step into designated roles to certify the pope’s death, organize a public viewing and a funeral, and to initiate the process for selecting a successor. Immediately after a pope’s death is confirmed by the head of the Vatican’s health department and the body dressed in a white cassock and brought to the pope’s private chapel, the cardinal chamberlain (camerlengo) becomes the Vatican’s de facto administrator for day-to-day affairs. The prefect of the papal household tells the camerlengo who must verify the pope's death in the presence of the papal master of ceremonies, the cleric prelates of the Apostolic Camera and the secretary of the Apostolic Camera, who draws up a death certificate. Then the camerlengo and prefect of the papal household pass the news to various officials in the Vatican, who relay it to the people of Rome and the heads of nations. The camerlengo locks and seals the pope's apartment. While looting was a concern in the past, modern popes are more concerned that their private papers stay out of the wrong hands. The camerlengo destroys the pope's fisherman's ring and seal- traditionally with a special hammer, to symbolize the end of his reign and prevent misuse, like forging documents. The pope’s passing marks the beginning of nine days of mourning called the novemdiales. The College of Cardinals decides on the day and hour that the pope’s body will be brought to St. Peter’s Basilica in a procession led by the camerlengo. His body is dressed in papal vestments and placed in state for public viewing where hundreds of thousands of people line up to pay their respects. The date for the funeral and burial is set by the College of Cardinals, but the apostolic constitution states it is to "take place, except for special reasons, between the fourth and sixth day after death." Previous popes have been buried in three coffins, cypress, lead and elm, placed one inside the other. However, Francis asked to be buried in one coffin made of wood and zinc. Popes are traditionally buried in the Vatican Grottoes on the lower level of Saint Peter’s Basilica. However, Francis requested that he be buried at Santa Maria Maggiore in Rome’s Esquilino. Only seven popes have been buried there, the last one being Clement IX in 1669. The camerlengo is the acting head of the Vatican until the next pope is chosen and he organizes the election process, which is called the conclave. After the death of a pope, the Vatican enters a transitional period called the sede vacante or interregnum, where power is handed over to the College of Cardinals, but no major decisions are made until the papacy is filled. About 15-20 days after the pope’s death, cardinals under the age of 80 convene at the Sistine Chapel in Vatican City, which is sealed off, to elect the new pontiff through a secret ballot. Multiple rounds of voting over several days takes place until a candidate wins two-thirds of the vote. If there is no decision after 33 rounds of voting, the top two candidates face off in a run-off vote. Ballots are burned– the public can watch the chimney for progress of the vote. Black smoke means the cardinals will need to vote again; white smoke means a new pope has been chosen. After the vote, the winning candidate is asked two questions: Do they accept their election, and what name will they chose? Then official documents are filled out, the new pope is fitted with papal attire. There are typically three sets of garments at the ready. Then the news is announced to the public. The senior cardinal deacon appears on the balcony over St. Peter's Square and announces " Habemus Papam! " "We have a pope!" ▪
We are pleased to announce that St. Leonard School has been the recipient of two grants gifted within The Catholic Community Foundation: A general grant in the amount of $17,000 for tuition assistance, and a grant from the Robert T. and Randi L. Bautch Fund in the amount of $12,591 for general support. We are grateful for the thoughtful and generous investments helping us continue to provide an excellent Catholic education. The Catholic Community Foundation helps donors with estate planning and other philanthropic initiatives that benefit causes that further the mission of the Church. Learn more at legaciesoffaith.org ▪
Each year we pick a charity to receive all the profits from our annual Thanksgiving Day Turkey Trot 5K run & walk. The charity that we chose this year is Family Promise of Waukesha County , which helps low-income families and families experiencing homelessness to achieve sustainable independence through a community-based response. I’m happy to announce that we raised a grand total of $23,421.56 from the net profits of the event. This will all benefit the great work of Family Promise of Waukesha County. This year our Turkey Trot had a grand total of 1,872 runners and walkers, the largest turnout in the 13 years that we’ve been hosting this event! We had 900 male participants and 972 females. There were 1,032 runners and 840 walkers. The largest age group was 18 and under with 418 participants. Interestingly, the second largest age group was 50-64 with 385 participants. Teams are popular as 942 participants were on teams, while 930 signed up as individuals. At least 980 have participated in past St. Leonard Turkey Trots. We had 10 different states represented: Wisconsin, California, Hawaii, Indiana, Maryland, Michigan, New Jersey, New York, Oklahoma, and Texas each had one participant listed. After the run/walk, we served 450 pints of chocolate milk, over 800 cookies, 150 apples, and 2 cases of bananas! Our participants were generous as an additional $3,095.72 was given on the optional donation page for Family Promise of Waukesha County. We owe a big THANK YOU to our Turkey Trot race director Allen Jorn and our roughly 100 volunteers who helped make the event a wonderful success. Thank you to all the people who worked so hard to coordinate the countless details of such a huge event! Thank you to all the bakers who made dozens and dozens of cookies for our walkers and runners! Thank you to our corporate sponsors whose names are on the back of the Turkey Trot t-shirts. Thank you to the Muskego Police Department and the Tess Corners Fire Department for ensuring that we had a safe racecourse! I’ve already started training for the 2025 Turkey Trot and look forward to another great event! ▪
Our conference of St. Vincent dePaul has been very involved in improving the lives of our neighbors and we send a sincere and grateful thank you to you, our fellow parishioners. It is because of your constant support through prayers, reflection, monetary and item donations that allow us to reach those in our community who are struggling to pay rent, utilities, etc. and to have enough food and necessities. Between October 2024 and December 2024 we have paid $7275.70 toward rent, energy, car repair for a homeless neighbor and other necessities. During this time we also provided $950 in gift cards to assist those in need. We are also thankful for all the donations in the blue bin by the Youth Center. We are feeding the hungry, housing the poor and working to help our neighbors achieve independence in their daily living. We look forward to your continued support of those in most need in our community. "Whoever oppresses the poor shows contempt for their Maker, but whoever is kind to the needy honors God," (Proverbs 14:31)
One might think of the word catechesis as interchangeable with religious education, but knowledge is just one of the tasks of catechesis. These six tasks are prayer, knowledge, liturgical formation, community, morality and mission ( General Directory for Catechesis, ##85-86). Our Christian Formation programs keep this in the forefront, making sure our children and youth are formed not only in knowledge of our faith, but also in the practice of it so that- in partnership with their families- they can be prepared to live a life of discipleship. For example, this past week our fourth and seventh grade Christian Formation students, along with our Vine and Branches Special Ed. group, decorated and assembled hygiene bags. Students teamed up in multi-age pairings and decorated canvas bags with cheery, upbeat drawings and then filled a zipper bag with various self-care items. The bags were assembled and the recipients were prayed for. The intent is for these sets to be donated to Street Angels Mobile Outreach Program and distributed to some of their youngest clients, especially during this cold winter. Hands-on experiences like these help our children be more engaged with the content of a lesson and demonstrate how what we learn is applicable to our lives. Other activity-based lessons, such as games, crafts, multi-modal presentations and discussions help our children learn more effectively and reach different kinds of learners. We appreciate your continued support of our Christian Formation program and the efforts of some of our youngest parishioners in supporting those in need. To learn more about our Christian Formation programs, please call our Christian Formation Office at 262-679-0880 or visit our webpage . ▪
The St. Leonard Pastoral Council recently approved a $10,000 parish donation to Catholic Charities USA for hurricane relief. Catholic Charities USA is distributing funding to local Catholic Charities agencies on the ground providing life-sustaining assistance to people impacted by Hurricane Helene and Hurricane Milton. The donation comes from a parish tithe that is a percentage of St. Leonard’s annual operating budget. The purpose of our parish tithe is to increase our outreach and live stewardship as a parish, in recognition that all we have is a gift from God and meant to be shared with others. Thanks for your generous support of St. Leonard that makes this outreach possible! To make a direct personal gift for hurricane relief or find out how people in need following the hurricanes are being assisted, visit catholiccharitiesusa.org .
One of the four projects being funded by the Love One Another campaign at St. Leonard is the replacement of the gym roof and HVAC system. This project began July 16, 2024. Projects are being completed in the order of urgency of repairs needed. The environmental sustainability measures taken in this project demonstrates three of the areas of concentration defined by the US Green Building Council’s LEED rating system: Energy and atmosphere, indoor air quality, and materials and resources. We chose a stone ballasted roof instead of a chemically adhered roof, because we want to avoid a product that gives off a large amount of Volatile Organic Compound (gasses emitted from certain solids or liquids that can decrease air quality). The new HVAC system is a Single Zone Variable Air Volume (SZVAV) system. With an SZVAV system, the cooling capacity can closely match the capacity of the space being regulated. This matching avoids wide temperature swings, allowing adequate run time for humidity control. In comparison, the existing HVAC system provided air at a constant temperature and varied airflow, which created larger temperature swings and poor humidity control. SZVAV systems have the ability to decrease fan speed, resulting in less energy consumption compared to the existing system. We also purchased a CO2 ventilation system, which will improve indoor air quality. We would like to thank everyone who has supported the Love One Another campaign and the Buildings and Grounds Committee. Without your commitment we wouldn’t be able to complete much needed projects around campus.
With the church in the midst of a “Eucharistic Revival,” there are many saints who can be looked to as models of love for Jesus who is truly present in the Holy Eucharist. A new hero of mine is a modern-day teenager named Carlo Acutis. Carlo is an Italian boy who died from leukemia at the age of 15 in the year 2006. He offered his sufferings for the Church, saying “I offer all the suffering I will have to suffer for the Lord, for the Pope, and the Church.” Growing up in Italy, Carlo was a normal boy who enjoyed video games and soccer. Even though his parents were not particularly religious, Carlo developed a deep love for Jesus in the Eucharist. While in many families it is the parents who drag their teenagers to church, in the Acutis family it was the opposite! Carlo was the one who wanted to receive Communion every day and kept dragging his parents to church with him! He would make a holy hour of silent prayer before or after Mass, he went to Confession every week, and prayed the rosary daily. At school, Carlo was known for defending other kids who were picked on, especially disabled children. Carlo had a talent for website design, and he used his talents to create a website documenting Eucharistic Miracles– instances when the bread and wine at Mass visibly turned into physical heart tissue and human blood. Carlo said, "the more often we receive the Eucharist, the more we will become like Jesus, so that on this earth we will have a foretaste of heaven." Carlo was declared by the church to be “venerable” in 2018 (the first step to sainthood), and then in 2020, Pope Francis beatified him in the final stage before sainthood. He is now known as Blessed Carlo Acutis. His official website is: https://carloacutis-en.org/
The Christian life is about communion with Jesus. I am reminded of this truth each day at the seminary in which our lives as seminarians are scheduled around liturgical and personal prayer. This is why the Church requires us to attend Mass every Sunday and encourages us to receive communion as often as possible (at least once during the Easter Season). At Mass we offer praise and thanksgiving to God for his goodness and the blessings he has given us. We also offer petitions for our own needs and the needs of the Church Universal. Most importantly, we offer our hearts during the Eucharistic prayer, joining our own intentions and offerings to the sacrificial offering of Jesus on the Cross and receive the Body, Blood, Soul, and Divinity of Jesus Christ who gives us divine life, and healing which conform our hearts and lives to look more like his. The source and summit of the Christian life, indeed, is the Eucharist. However, the Church’s liturgy does not end with Mass. However, the Church’s liturgy does not end with Mass. The memorial of the Paschal Mystery, our communion with Jesus, and our offerings of praise, thanksgiving, and petition to the Father are extended throughout the day in the Liturgy of the Hours. This prayer is offered by the Church so that we are joined to Christ in prayer at all times and to sanctify the entirety of every day “from the rising of the sun to its setting” (Psalm 113:3). Near the end of his public ministry on earth, Jesus instructed his disciple that “You must pray at all times and not lose heart” (Lk 18:1). In the Acts of the Apostles, we read that from the Church’s beginning, the apostles took Jesus’ command to “pray always” to heart by praying at fixed times throughout the day: the apostles were praying together on Pentecost during “the third hour of the day” (Acts 2:1-15); Peter “went up on the housetop to pray, about the sixth hour” (Acts 10:9); “Peter and John were going up to the temple at the hour of prayer, the ninth hour” (3:1); “about midnight Paul and Silas were praying and singing hymns to God” (16:25). Following the example of the Apostles, the Church gradually formalized this “hourly” personal prayer of the Early Christians into liturgical prayer which is called the Liturgy of the Hours or the Divine Office. Through the Liturgy of the Hours, the Church draws all of its members to “offer to God an unceasing sacrifice of praise” (Heb 15:15). For those who pray the Office regularly, the Psalms begin to become part of the rhythm of life and a source of dialogue with God, both praying the psalms to the Father and also listening to how the word speaks to one’s own heart. The Liturgy of the Hours is made up of seven specified times of prayer (called “Hours”). The two most important hours, called the “hinge” hours, are Morning Prayer (prayed around sunrise or 6 am) and Evening Prayer (prayed around sunset or 6 pm). At the seminary, we pray both of these hours in community on most weekdays. The other hours are Office of Readings, the three Daytime Hours (Midmorning, Midday, and Midafternoon), and Night Prayer. Sanctifying specific times of the day, each Hour reflects a spiritual theme that correlates to the physical time of day. During the morning, for example, the prayers focus on resurrection and new life in Christ. During the evening, the prayers focus on thanksgiving for the day's blessings and preparation for the day ahead. For those who pray the Office regularly, the psalms begin to become part of the rhythm of life and a source of dialogue with God, both praying the Psalms to the Father and also listening to how the word speaks to one’s own heart. At their ordination, priests and deacons promise “to celebrate faithfully the Liturgy of the Hours”(1) for the glorification of God and sanctification of his people. While not required of the laity, the Second Vatican Council encouraged the entire Church, including the laity, to incorporate the Liturgy of the Hours into the liturgical life of parishes and individual Christians. The Liturgy of the Hours has been a significant part of my prayer life for several years. In the year or two before I entered seminary, I began to make Morning Prayer and Night Prayer a regular part of my prayer life. Since I did not have as much time to pray as I do now in seminary life, I found that committing to praying one or two Hours daily gave my prayer life stability. Being almost entirely scriptural, it helped me to become acquainted with Psalms and Scripture passages that I would not have otherwise prayed with or read at that time. Finally, it gave me a better sense of living a liturgical life, especially during the seasons of Lent, Easter, Advent, and Christmas. If you are struggling to enter into a routine of prayer in your family life, if you would like to live more liturgically, or if you would like to pray more with Scripture, I encourage you to try incorporating one or more of the Hours into your daily prayer routine. A very simple start is to end the day with Night Prayer, which is simple to learn. While you can purchase a volume of Night Prayer or Christian Prayer (which contains Morning, Evening, and Night Prayer), there are many apps for iPhone and Android that prepare all of the prayers for you (no need to worry about ribbons or purchase an expensive book). Two very easy to use apps are the Divine Office and IBreviary apps. I encourage you to make a plan to pray one or two hours regularly by yourself or with your family. If we do not make plans for prayer, it will never seem like there is time for it. Making a commitment to pray Morning Prayer to sanctify the day as it begins or Night Prayer as a prayerful reflection on how the day went before going to bed is a great step toward prioritizing your prayer life and remaining in communion and conversation with Jesus each and every day. Please consider joining us at St. Leonard every fourth Saturday of the month after the 5 p.m. Mass for Evening Prayer in the Divine Mercy Chapel, beginning January 27. (1) Ordination of Deacons – Promise of the Elect
