St. Leonard In the News: Spring 2026

Over the last few months we’ve been alluding to a new digital parish system. We are implementing a program called ParishStaq- a parish management platform that will integrate many of our services and communications- making it easier for parishioners and staff to stay connected, informed, and engaged. ParishStaq uses industry-leading security and encryption to keep your personal and financial information secure. With ParishStaq, you will be able to log into your own profile where you can: Stay more connected to your ministry groups Register for events and ministries more easily Access ministry schedules, volunteer opportunities and giving in one place Update family contact information conveniently Receive communications more consistently We are also excited to build our own mobile app for quick access to parish life and resources. This transition will help our parish staff and ministry leaders work more efficiently by reducing duplicate work, improving communication and streamlining administrative tasks. We will be able to focus more time and energy on our mission. As part of this process, our online giving platform has already transitioned to Pushpay (which is part of the ParishStaq system). We are grateful to everyone who has already made that change. As we continue to implement ParishStaq over the next few months, we will provide clear instructions and support. Thank you for your patience and support as we take this important step forward together.

Deacon Nathan Budde- one of our former parish seminarians visiting from the Diocese of Green Bay, WI- will be ordained to the priesthood on Saturday, May 30. You are invited to support Dcn. Nathan through prayer and by following along with the ordination and other celebrations surrounding this blessed occasion. Ordination & Other Masses Ordination | Saturday, May 30, 10 a.m. at St. Francis Xavier Cathedral, Green Bay, WI The Ordination Mass is open to the public, with a light reception and opportunity to receive a blessing to follow. This Mass is also livestreamed . First Mass | Sunday, May 31, 2 p.m. at St. Mary Catholic Church, De Pere, WI This Mass is open to the public with a light reception and opportunity to receive a blessing to follow. Masses of Thanksgiving at St. Leonard | Sunday, June 21, 9 a.m. and 11 a.m. Light refreshments to follow these two Masses only. Our 9 a.m. Mass is also livestreamed . These Masses are also opportunities to receive a Plenary Indulgence. Continue reading below to learn more about indulgences and how to prepare to receive it.

The Human Concerns Committee's Lenten and Easter collections were a great success, thanks to the generosity of our faith community. Through the Lenten collections we helped 5 organizations: The HOPE Center , Community Smiles Dental , Kathy's House , The Women’s Center and Street Angels . In addition to the items sent directly to the organizations through their Amazon wish lists, we donated 30-45 packed boxes/bags each week. The organizations themselves also thank you, with comments including the following: “Thank you for coordinating this effort! We are so thankful for everything. It will definitely be put to good use in the house,” (Kathy’s House). “We want to say how grateful (and still surprised) we are! So many children and families will benefit from this. It truly is an amazing thing your congregation does to help the community,” (Community Smiles Dental). Through the Easter Food Collection, we were able to provide a wonderful Easter meal and other necessities to 19 families. We are over-joyed to share that an anonymous parishioner also assembled and donated Easter baskets for all of the children in each family that benefitted from Easter Food Collection. Our elementary Christian Formation students who participated in an enrichment program on "The Plight Of the Working Poor" donated food items for and assembled shelf-stable meal kits to add to the Easter food being donated. The meal kits included a handmade card and recipe instructions for the meals. The assembled recipes were taco soup, chicken parmesan and an Italian spaghetti dinner. Thank you, parishioners, for your incredible generosity! Thank you to the Human Concerns Committee for coordinating these efforts to help us live our mission and carry out the Lenten pillar of almsgiving.

On behalf of the Auction Committee, thank you so much for your generosity and support for this year’s auction fundraiser, Luck of the Auction. Due to your support, we have raised more than we ever have before! We have raised over $58,000 for Home & School and the Church to use for our school students to improve their educational experience as well as purchase much-needed playground equipment! This amount is a 25% increase over our proceeds from last year’s auction! We also had our highest auction attendance in recent years with 196 attendees! This fundraiser could not be successful without the support of our school staff, church staff, parishioners, and community supporters! Thank you for your donations, support, and hard work! Make sure you are on the lookout for “The Good, the Bad, and the Lucky,” our Wild West/Country themed auction for 2027!

A youth participant shares their story.

Knights of Columbus Council #6448 and St. Leonard's Christian Formation program are pleased to announce that they donated $4,525 in gift cards and 95 gift bags to St. Francis de Sales Seminary through their collection in November 2025. This beats the previous record value of $3,344 in 2024. We express our heart-filled gratitude to our entire faith community, as this collection was made possible by the generosity of St. Leonard parishioners and all other individuals who donated. The annual Sentiments for Seminarians Collection seeks to help local seminarians supplement some of their basic needs with gift cards. Knights of Columbus Council #6448 explains, "Since seminarians don’t get paid, have no jobs or vacations, it’s often hard for them to obtain many simple, needed items and travel when and where they need to," ( read more on the Knights of Columbus webpage ).

October is the month dedicated to the rosary in the Catholic Church. It is a meditative prayer that helps us engage with the mysteries of Christ ( The Catechism of the Catholic Church #2708). The Church’s devotion to Mary does not replace or compete with adoration of God, rather, leads us to Christ through her inspiration and intercession ( CCC #971). Our school gathered for an outdoor rosary led by the sixth grade class, Fr. Pat, and parishioner Mary Dibb. Did you know that our older students pair up with younger class “buddies” for Mass and other prayers? What a great way to integrate faith, cooperation and leadership!

We had a great time at our annual parish picnic! Thank you to the Pastoral Council for hosting the event. Thank you also to parishioner Wes Niemcek and another anonymous parishioner for the photos. We can't wait to celebrate our faith community again next year!  Click the arrows to the left and right of the picture below to see our photo gallery.

We are pleased to report that our church building was not impacted by the flooding the weekend of August 9 and 10, 2025. We continue to pray for all those who were affected by the storms. In 2018 our church building flooded on Mother's Day. The Building & Grounds committee worked with an engineer to design and install mechanisms to prevent future flooding, including a gutter system to divert roof water to a retention pond on the Northeast corner of our property, a waterproof membrane along the West foundation wall and two new exterior sump pump crocks. We also excavated along the West wall to place gravel for a drainage trench. These improvements along with other repairs were made possible by many generous parishioners, including Pat Bartz, the Building & Grounds Committee– with special thanks to Bobby Schaefer, Len Roecker, Ray Jachimiec, Werner Holentunder, Bernie Cleppe, Phil Dibb and Charlie DuPont– and parishioners who contributed to the “Avoid The Ark” special collection.