Bonanza 2025 is off and running. Tickets are being distributed to team captains who will be providing tickets to our sellers. This year, more than ever, we are looking for new volunteers to help sell tickets. Please consider helping. We hope to have a seller list in The Spirit published by February 24th. Please call the office if you are interested and leave your name and number. You will be contacted to arrange for receiving instructions and tickets. We hope to sell 1750 tickets this year and will be giving away a total of $38,000 during the 10 drawings. The grand prize this year will be $12,000.

The St. Leo's Lenten Lunch Project begins Ash Wednesday, March 5, for six weeks during Lent.  Donation drop-offs will take place the weekend before each Wednesday lunch during Masses inside the church by the Family Room and in the Austin Portico lobby, or anytime at the Parish Office during business hours.  

Happy New Year! As we experience the joy that comes with the start of a new year, I am delighted to share the exciting happenings at our school.

We will have our Giving Trees with their tags out in the church beginning November 16-17. Please consider taking one or two home and plan to support our parish project. Collection of your gifts will be the weekend of December 14-15 or delivered to the Parish Office anytime. Online and Amazon orders may go to: Giving Tree Project St. Clare Church 1401 Whittier Road Grosse Pointe Park, MI 48230.

As Catholics, we believe that death will separate us from the people we love for only a while. We are still united with them in the Communion of Saints. On the feast of All Souls, and throughout the entire month of November, we take time to recall our deceased relatives, friends, and all the faithful departed who may still be waiting for the happiness of heaven in purgatory. We pray for them, remembering that being purified, these people have the power to intercede for us too.

On Sunday, Sept. 8, the Michaelite Fathers will celebrate, anticipate, the feast of St. Michael at the Michaelite Retreat Centre in London, Ontario. It is an outdoor Mass, gathering several hundred people at 4 pm.

It's time for Spring clean up and planting around the church gardens. All are welcome! Saturday, May 4th and Saturday, May 18th from 9:00 to 11:00 am both days.

A representative of the Holy Land Family will be selling beautiful hand carved religious artwork made from olive wood and mosaics to help the Christian families in the Holy Land who rely on the selling of their religious work to make a living.

Thank you to everyone who participated in Operation Rice Bowl! You may leave your Rice bowls with your coins, cash, or check donations in the marked boxes on the altar. We will continue to collect donations through April 8. Go to www.crsricebowl.org to learn about more opportunities to support CRS projects that alleviate suffering and aid people in need in more than 100 countries.

The St. Clare Parish family and school will continue its annual tradition of participating in the Corporal Act of Mercy to Bury the Dead. During Lent each year, we provide a funeral service for an individual or individuals who have been left with no family available to claim their remains and no possibility for a burial.

The Giving Trees with their tags are out in the church for one more weekend. Please pick up a gift tag or two as a reminder to support this annual project. Collection of your gifts will be the weekend of December 09-10 or delivered to the Parish Office anytime.

Parking Lot Update: The parking lot is open and ready for use. We are very excited to be back in business. The parking lot lights will be reconnected soon. A special thank you to the parking lot committee members and our leader, Mike Wendzinski, for directing the efforts to get this done. Also, a special thank you to Verheyden’s Funeral Home for their support and patience throughout this process. We are most grateful for you sharing your parking lot with us during this process.

The final course of asphalt was being applied upon our return from Italy and the following couple of days. We expect striping to be applied this weekend, Saturday November 4. We will work through final punch lists in the days to follow. Thank you for everyone’s support and patience. Once again, a special thank you to Verheyden’s Funeral Home for their support and patience throughout this process. We are most grateful for you sharing your parking lot with us during this process. Thank you for your support!

I expect one or two courses of asphalt will have been applied by the time you read this article. Weather permitting, they planned to lay the asphalt last week and pour the cement collars around the storm catch basins. We are in the home stretch! Thank you for your support and patience through this large parish project. Thank you for your support!

Cement stabilization was performed last week, and final grading should be completed as I write this article. Cement collars were also scheduled to be completed last week. I am hopeful that our first course of asphalt will be going down this week.

The underground work is largely completed. The asphalt team has moved in to begin grading and setting elevations for the new asphalt and cement work to come. We have been blessed with good weather and look forward to making a lot of progress this week. If all goes well we hope to be putting down asphalt the last week of September.

The Rectory Parking Lot recently had new asphalt installed and new cement was poured along Charlevoix to complete the driveway apron and repair areas in front of the flagpole. Fr. Andrew is happy to have his garage back and a place to safely store his car. The completion of this small lot provides a glimmer of hope that our big lot is soon to follow. The underground team will be wrapping up their storm water detention system installation this week. We look forward to the paving team’s arrival to prepare the lot asphalt installation.

The Main parking lot remains closed to all parking. The Carport remains available for drop-off. Please continue to park on Whittier, Verheyden’s, and on area side streets. Please observe all parking signs. Please continue to walk, ride bikes if you are able. Great job St. Clare family on your cooperation during these early weeks of construction. We are making progress!

The Main parking lot remains closed to all parking. The Carport remains available for drop-off. Please continue to park on Whittier, Verheyden’s, and on area side streets. Please observe all parking signs. Please continue to walk, ride bikes if you are able. Great job St. Clare family on your cooperation during these early weeks of construction. We are making progress!

The Main parking lot remains closed to all parking. The Carport remains available for drop-off. Please continue to park on Whittier, Verheyden’s, and on area side streets. Please observe all parking signs. Please continue to walk, ride bikes if you are able. Great job St. Clare family on your cooperation during these early weeks of construction. We are making progress! All old asphalt and cement have been removed. The new water main has been installed and connected. The water detention system and storm water piping will begin to be installed this week.