Apr 23, 2026

Greetings,

This Saturday is our Spectacular, a fundraiser for St. Sebastian Parish School! This year’s theme is “A Spectacular Evening in Bloom!” Thank you to our chairs, Emily Boarman and Kelsey Casano, all the volunteers who help make this essential fundraiser possible, and of course, all of you who attend or keep the event in your prayers. You are part of the reason we are able to have such a fine school.

IN OTHER NEWS:

SERVERS: We have a brand-new batch of servers beginning their ministry in our sanctuary. For the time being, a new server will be on with a veteran server to help build up knowledge and confidence. Please keep them in your prayers and let them know that you appreciate them. It means a lot!

FR. MARCELLI: Fr. Marcelli’s final Sunday Mass as our parochial vicar will be on Sunday, June 7 at 9am. This is also Corpus Christi weekend, and he will be the celebrant for the Procession of the Blessed Sacrament. Following each of the Sunday Masses that weekend there will be a light reception in Zwisler Hall.

NEXT UP TO BAT: That week will also see the arrival of our new parochial vicar, Fr. Joseph Ho, though he is not, as of yet, a priest. His ordination date is Saturday, May 16 at 10am at our Cathedral of St. John the Evangelist in downtown Cleveland. You are cordially invited to the ceremony, and you can see our new priest at the exact moment that he becomes one! For those who cannot make it to the Cathedral, it will be live-streamed over the Diocesan website.

FINAL TRIP AWAY: Next week, the week of May 3, I will be taking my final trip to Mundelein Seminary for my classes in formation of interns, transitional deacons and the newly ordained. At the end of that week, I will receive my certificate and my classes will be finished. I admit to feeling a little guilty about being away from the parish so much for these classes, but they do allow us to continue to be a place that trains young clergy and those who are discerning.

We do live in a bit of a bubble here at St. Sebastian Parish. We are constantly visited by seminarians and newly ordained priests while others suffer from a lack of such a presence. Please join me in giving thanks that we are so blessed. And to truly show our appreciation, pray and promote Church vocations. Tell a young man or woman that, if he or she would discern such a life, you would pray and support them. I thank John, Christopher and Gabe for taking the risk of going into the seminary to discern if this is the life to which they feel called. But they are not the only ones discerning a call from this diocese. We currently have David Varga who is in the Byzantine Catholic Seminary and Josh Sukie, a parishioner who left to join St. Thomas Aquinas Seminary in Virginia. Speaking of which, Congratulations to Deacon Sean Homcy who was ordained to the Transitional Diaconate last weekend! Deacon Homcy served his internship here at St. Sebastian last year. It was great seeing so many St. Sebastianites up at the cathedral!

We’ve had a few other men enter the seminary and discern out while I have been here. I thank them too for seriously asking the question and looking into the priesthood. St. Sebastian Parish has a strong tradition of giving back for the many blessings that she receives. Please continue to pray for vocations and for those among us who may be contemplating such a life.

CONCERT THIS WEEKEND: The Peace Together Choir will be performing in our church at 4pm. This event is free and open to the public.

God bless,

Fr. Valencheck