Dear Parish Family,

  As you very likely know our parish will be celebrating our 100th Anniversary next year! 100 years ago, on April 17th, 1922, Bishop Joseph Schrembs announced the establishment of a new parish in West Park, Ohio and he placed the parish under the patronage of St. Vincent de Paul. 10 days later, Bishop Schrembs appointed Father Michael J. Flanigan as the first pastor of the new parish.

  Since those early days, a story of faith, family, and friendship has been told here on Lorain Avenue. Many special events in your lives and the lives of your families have been celebrated here. Many of you went to school here and many of you have worshipped here within these walls for years. St. Vincent de Paul Parish is, for so many, not just a place to worship, but also a family and a home. As we prepare to celebrate our families 100th Anniversary, I wanted to share with you some of the plans that we have started to work on to celebrate the anniversary. More details and specifics will be shared as they are figured out and planned.

  1. Anniversary Mass & Reception with Bishop Malesic: On Sept. 26th, Bishop Malesic will be with us for a 9:30 am Mass (note the time change for that weekend ONLY) to celebrate the Anniversary. I have invited the past priests who have served here to join us for that Mass as well. Weather dependent, following the Mass, we are going to try to recreate the photo from the Dedication Mass back in 1922 that was taken on the steps of the church. After Mass we are hoping to have a light breakfast reception. More details to come.

  2. Anniversary Raffle: We will have a special Anniversary 50/50 Raffle with the winning ticket being pulled at the Anniversary Reception. We are working on creating a special raffle ticket to mark the occasion and we will let you know when tickets are ready for purchase

  3. We are looking at and working on creating a special anniversary keepsake prayer card that everyone will be invited to take and pray with to mark the occasion.

  4. We are looking to create some photo/memory boards to display throughout the anniversary year, but we need your help to do this. If you have any pictures from throughout the years here at St. Vincent de Paul and would be willing to share them, please drop them off at the Rectory in an envelope with your name, phone number, and the year (if you know it) on each picture. We will collect the pictures to display and then return them to you afterwards. Please put your name and phone number on EACH picture.

  5. We also are looking for some memories/stories that we can put on the photo boards. You can drop something off at the Rectory or email something to svdpparishcouncil@gmail.com.

  Watch for more and have a Blessed Week!