Auxiliary Bishop emeritus Roger Gries was the main celebrant of a Mass on March 20 to open the celebration of St. Rocco Parish’s centennial year.
Italian immigrants began forming a Catholic community in the Fulton and Clark neighborhood of Cleveland in 1914.
The parish, established by Archbishop Joseph Schrembs on Dec. 8, 1922, has been staffed by the friars of the Order of Mercy of the Blessed Virgin Mary – known as the Mercedarians – since 1924. It is the oldest Italian parish on the West Side of Cleveland.
St. Rocco’s is well known for its annual Labor Day festival.
Bishop Gries praised the parish for being a stable witness to God’s presence in the area and urged the congregation throughout the centennial year to hold on to and renew their faith. He said a parish is “the story of a people and their love for God. Continue to show the presence of God in this community.”
Watch highlights from the celebration in the video above.