Driving by the old St. Christine church and school recently brought some nostalgic feelings and relief that the buildings, although repurposed, were still there. For many people, what made Euclid special were all the Catholic churches and schools that were located throughout the city. With the exception of St. Roberts, all the physical locations are still standing. There was a time though when all these special places were teaming with lots and lots of families and the school hallways were filled with children from Kindergartner through eighth grade.
I had the privilege to attend St. Felicitas School and learn from some wonderful teachers to include nuns who were still instructing at that time. One of my most adored teachers was Mrs. Mary Holaus who even lived on the same cul-de-sac I grew up on. So much of a child’s life back then revolved around the Church and its school environment. Our Catholic faith was integrated into nearly aspect of our lives and the experiences and lessons we learned from it still play a big part in who we are today whether active in the faith or not.
I’m happy many of our parish churches in Euclid are still active today, albeit with much smaller congregations. The past clustering of parishes and the closing of many of the schools brought despair to many Catholics. Many today may still worry that because the pews are filled with people that are getting older that many of these beautiful places of worship will cease to exist…