St. Jeromes

In celebration of their third wedding anniversary, Lawrence and Julia Wallace gave the people of Cleveland a gift in the form of an original concert.  The music was written and sung by Julia with Lawrence accompanying on piano.  Julia drew inspiration from the poetry of Charles Simic.  Jordan Dryer, Julia’s brother who read each poem before they were sung, actually started this project when he gave her Simic’s book “The World Doesn’t End.”  Julia was inspired to put the poems to music and met Lawrence when she needed an accompanist to record selections of the project.  The two have been inseparable ever since.  We hope they will continue to grace St. Jerome with their musical abilities for many years to come.

If you have driven past St. Jerome School lately, you will have noticed that the front steps to the school are being replaced.  95 years of Cleveland winters have taken their toll.  It is a big project but the safety of the children comes first and as the stairs were disassembled we discovered that there was structural deterioration to the support beams for the landing that had not been visible.  Repairs are well under way and we hope to have the steps completed for the first day of school.

Every Monday and Wednesday from 11am to 2:30pm a small but mighty group of dedicated volunteers arrive at the corner of Lake Shore Blvd and Huntmere Ave. and the Collinwood Interfaith Church Council Food Pantry comes to life.  The pantry serves nearly 600 clientss a month.  Many are seniors on fixed incomes or families with young children.  The pantry supplies 3 days of food per house hold member each month.  They also distribute clothing, from infant items to adult sizes, kitchen items, and toiletries. 

The 2017-2018 school year will begin at St. Jerome on Monday, August 28th with "walk-in day" when students and parents can stop in anytime between 9am and noon to visit their classroom, drop off supplies, purchase gym uniforms, and take care of all the paperwork that comes with back-to-school.  Wednesday is "Back to School" Night at 6pm for families to come in and get additional information, tour the classrooms and meet their children's teachers.  

Beloved musicians, Lawrence and Julia Wallace will perform their second annual concert on Wednesday, August 16th at 6pm.  The program will be the premier of "An Evening of Art Song" consiting of music written by Julia and featuring the poetry of Charles Simic.  Attendees are invited to join Julia and Lawrence in the choir loft for a very intimate concert experience.  The music can also be enjoyed from the sanctuary.  The concert is free and family friendly.  Don't miss it!

Picnic goers basked in some of the best weather we have had in several years.  The day was lovely, the company was enjoyable, and the food was wonderful.   Everyone brought their favorite side dishes and desserts to share, and the faithful fellows from St. Jerome Holy Name Society cooked up the burgers, hot dogs and roasted corn.  There were games for the kids, a Chinses Auction and of course the annual raffle for the adults.  A grand time was had by all.  

Father Francis Walsh was ordained to the priesthood on May 18, 1957.  He served in a number of parishes, including St. Paul Shrine, St. William, Immaculate Conception, St. Charles, and St. John Bosco before coming to St. Jerome in 1976 as an administrator.  He became pastor that same year when Fr. Koehl died suddenly.  He served as pastor at St. Jerome for 16 years.  He then became pastor at St. Luke, which allowed him to be closer to his mother.  He retired in 2013. 

CityMusic Cleveland wrapped up their thirteenth season with the final performance recorded live at St. Jerome Church on May 21st.  Music lovers from as far away as Kirtland and Parma packed the church for a delightful afternoon of music which featured the Cleveland debut of British conductor, Paul Watkins, and the superb musicianship of clarinetist Daniel Gilbert and the members of CityMusic Cleveland Chamber Orchestra.  These concerts provide a unique opportunity for people to experience marvelous concerts in intimate neighborhood settings and to interact with the musicians themselves at intermission and after the performance.  They will be returning to St. Jerome in the fall for performances on October 18th and December 6th at 7:30pm, and in 2018 on March 15th and May 16th for 7:30pm concerts.  The concerts are free and family friendly, donations are welcome.

Back in 1979 when then Pastor Francis P. Walsh celebrated the 60th Anniversary of St. Jerome Church he never imagined he would be back here again for the 60th Anniversary of his Ordination to the priesthood which was May 18, 2017.  As Father Walsh noted, “I never thought I would live long enough to have a 60th Anniversary.”  We are very glad he did and hope to celebrate many more anniversaries with him!  We will gather after 10am Mass on Sunday, June 25th for cake and coffee to celebrate his many years of service and friendship for the people of St. Jerome.

St. Jerome Holy Name Society sponsored a Pancake Breakfast on Mother’s Day both to honor our Moms and to raise money to provide scholarships for our school children who will be going on to Catholic high school.  Last year Holy Name gave a $250 scholarship to one boy and one girl from the 2016 St. Jerome School graduating class to be used toward Catholic high school tuition.  This year, Holy Name president, Jim Nugent, announced that are expanding the program to provide a scholarship to every 2017 St. Jerome School graduate who will be attending a Catholic high school in the fall.  Proceeds from the annual raffle which will be held June 25th at the parish picnic will go toward this effort.   Call the rectory at (216) 481-8200 to get your tickets  and support this great cause and have a chance at the $500 top prize.  We are very grateful to the Holy Name Society for everything they do for our parish and our school! 

St. Jerome Church and CityMusic Cleveland Chamber Orchestra are pleased to announce that Mr. Paul Watkins will be making his conducting debut in Cleveland, Ohio, with their May concert series which can be heard at St. Jerome Church Sunday May 21st at 4pm.. Mr. Watkins is the Music Director of the acclaimed English Chamber Orchestra. Mr. Watkins is also a member of the Emerson String Quartet and plays the cello.

May is traditionally a month of devotions to Mary, the Mother of God.  St. Jerome continues the tradition of devotion to Mary with the school children holding a May Crowning service following the all school Mass on Wednesday, May 3rd.  

Nearly 500 people watched with awe as the wonderful singers and performers of “Tetélestai” reenacted the Trial, Execution, and Resurrection of Jesus the Messiah on a stage built right in the sanctuary of St. Jerome Church.  “Tetélestai” has been performed during lent for 40 years now.  All of the actors and crew are volunteers who see this as a ministry and it is a family affair.  It was amazing to see very young children in their parent’s arms on stage throughout the performance.  Older children had roles in the drama and sang beautifully.  It will be performed in different churches until Good Friday.  Go to LiveThePassion.org for dates and locations.

The month of March is Women's Suffrage.  The 6th Grade Scholars of St. Jerome School, had a project, in reference to this movement.  On Election Day in 1920, millions of American Women exercised their right to vote for the first time.  It took Activist almost 100 years to win that right.  August 26, 1920, the 19th Amendment to the Constitution was ratified finally.  All American women, like men, deserved the right and resposibilities of Citizenship.

     St. Jerome Preschool Students are proof that the American School System works.  The word "can't" is not a vocabulary term found in our preschool's academic mission. Instead we replace the word "can't" with the word "try."

This Lent, we invite you to join us at

Once again St. Jerome Respect Life group traveled to Washington for the annual March for Life, held Friday, January 27th.  This year the weather was dry but chilly as they attended Mass at the Basilica of the National Shrine of the Immaculate Conception before the March.

St. Jerome is delighted to welcome Cleveland Performing Arts Ministries production of Tetélestai.  For 40 years audiences have been moved by this powerful, live portrayal of  the “Trial, Execution and Resurrection of Jesus the Messiah.”  Make this wonderfully spiritual experience part of your Lenten journey. 

St. Jerome School is celebrating Catholic Schools Week from January 29th to February 3rd.  The children and teachers have a wonderful week planned that includes an open house, games, and community outreach activities!  The children will also have a chance to vistit the Book Fair during Catholic Schools Week to look for new books to purchase for their own use.  

While it doesn’t seem possible, St. Jerome Parish is rapidly approaching it’s 100th birthday.  Planning has begun for the Centennial celebration which is tentatively scheduled to begin with the annual St. Jerome Clam/Steak Bake which is held the last Sunday of September and in 2018 happens to fall on September 30th, the feast day of our patron, St. Jerome.  Activities are being planned for a full year culminating with the Clam/Steak Bake in September of 2019. 

Oxtail Barley, Sausage Tortellini, Potato Leek, these were among the nine scrumptious home-made soup varieties enjoyed at St. Jerome’s most recent “SOUPer” Sunday celebration held on January 8th.  This wonderful celebration of community has recently been revived and on a day when the thermometer seemed stuck at 13° it was very much appreciated. 

The fifth grade are learning about the Native American Indians and how they survived in their environment.  They learned about the Native Americans of the Plains, West, Woodlands and the Southwest.  They learned that the Spainish left their horses behind and that the indians learned to become excellent riders.  This changed the way they hunted for their food.  They were surprised to discover that the authors of our constitution used some ideas from the Iroquois Confederacy. 

We like to integrate art into our subjects, so they made their own War Shields and decorated them to put outside their room.  Next they will be designing their own tepees for the end of the unit. 

In Reading we were going over poetry.  They created their own cinquains and put them on leaves in our room.  They did a great job.  We just recently finished reading about Winter's Tail, about the dolphin that lost its tail in a crab trap.  We went online to see how Winter was doing and learned some new things about her.

In Science we are finishing up on ecosystems and how everything in our environment is connected some way or another.  We are learning about food chains and how important it is not to lose the animals that are connected to our food chains and webs.  The children also did a report on one animal and how important that animal is to our world.  They made nature vests and put the report inside the vest that they decorated.

We just went on our first field trip to the North Chagrin Metro Park where we learned all about owls and what kinds of owls live in our neighborhoods.  We took a nature walk and the naturalist pointed out interesting things we take for granted every day.  The most exciting thing we did on our nature walk was feed the chickadees.  The naturalist handed us sunflower seeds and told us to hold out the palm of our hands and stand still.  The next thing that happened was so cool.  The chickadees started eating out of the palm of our hands.  That was the best part of the field trip for all of us.

Plan to join St. Jerome, Collinwood's Catholic School, on Friday, February 3rd for the annual Reverse Raffle to be held at Tizzano's Party Center.  Doors will open at 6pm for cocktails and the delicious dinner will begin at 7:15.  Try your luck on the many fantastic Chinese Auction items, side boards and of course, the main board with a top prize of $2500.  After you collect your winnings stay and dance the night away with friends and alumni.  All proceeds to benefit St. Jerome School. Only 200 tickets are printed and can be purchased through the school office (216)486-3587 or the parish office at (216)481-8200.  If you would like to donate items for the Chinese Auction contact the school office.    

WORSHIP WITH US THIS SEASON

St. Jerome School has been bustling with activity.  In the month of October, the school had an assembly to kick off our Pennies for Pasta service project.  Students learned about Leukemia and how it affects people of all ages.  Through visual “blood cells and veins” they observed how the body is affected in a negative way causing Leukemia.  They were each given a box and asked to collect pennies, other coins, and bills that will help in research to cure this disease.  The classroom that raises the most money receives a pasta luncheon donated by Olive Garden.

SACRAMENT OF RECONCILIATION

No longer hanging onto mom’s apron strings, the Second graders of St. Jerome School are taking a flying leap into their education. We start our day with prayers and learning about the Ten Commandments. We expect to pass Father Bill’s Ten Commandment Challenge as we also learn about becoming better Christians.

St. Jerome is delighted to welcome the sublimely talented musicians of the City Music Cleveland Chamber Orchestra back for another delightful, free performance on Sunday, October 23rd at 5pm.  The orchestra’s music director, Avner Dorman, will conduct and the program will feature one of Mr. Dorman’s compositions, entitled “After Brahms – Three Intermezzi for Orchestra.  Tchaikovsky’s Violin Concerto and Beethoven’s Symphony No. 4 will also be on the program.
        Violin soloist, Sayaka Shoji will again perform with the orchestra.  Anyone who was fortunate enough to have heard one of her performances last year with City Music can testify that we are in for a rare treat.  Ms. Shoji has performed all over the world since winning the prestigious Paganini Competition in 1999.  Now a resident of Paris, she so enjoyed her experience in Cleveland, the museums, the food, and the chance to perform the program over a period of consecutive nights and in doing so, more fully explore the music, that she happily agreed to return.  We are glad she did and think you will be too!

Lawrence and Julia Wallace delighted parishioners, family and friends who came to St. Jerome Church on Friday, August 19, by performing their first annual Anniversary Concert.  The couple were married at St. Jerome in August 2016 and returned to present an evening of music as a history of song. The performance opened with a twelfth century troubadour melody and progressed through folk, liturgical, operatic, theater and popular genres.  Julia, St. Jerome’s current music director, demonstrated her remarkable vocal skills, often complimenting her song with her own accompaniment on the autoharp, guitar or tin whistle.  Julia holds a bachelor’s degree in vocal performance from Marietta College and this month begins pursuing a masters in music education at Case Western Reserve University.  Lawrence, former St. Jerome music director and present music director at St. Luke’s Church in Lakewood, performed brilliantly on the piano, organ and vocally.  Lawrence, a graduate of both American Boys Choir School in Princeton, New Jersey, and Eastman School of Music in Rochester, New York, in addition to work in the Church, also is involved in theater productions.  The St. Jerome school and congregation are positively grateful for the presence and talents of Julia and Lawrence Wallace at our parish.

It’s back-to-school time at St. Jerome’s and all the students and teachers will be excited when they see their newly remodeled library.  Mrs. Stephanie Uzomah, the school librarian, has been hard at work most of the summer putting a bright face on her favorite space.  A grant from the Catholic Community Foundation made possible the purchase of new carpet, as well as tables and chairs, and other equipment.  The library is especially enjoyed by the younger students, but the updates include a smart TV with educational apps that will benefit every age group.  Recently acquired accelerated reader books will appeal, especially, to the upper grades.  The loft has been redesigned to make it more kid friendly than ever before with bean bag chairs for reading relaxation, and floor-size puzzle building will be fun on the fresh carpet.  Appealing and educational recent book acquisitions have expanded the offerings on the loft’s book racks.

Sunday, September 25 on the parish grounds

Dinner | Entertainment | Raffles | Fun

Catered by John Krann of Rockway Catering

Music by DJ Joel Scigliano

$30 per person | $10 for extra dozen clams

Tickets available in the parish office

Purchase your tickets by September 19

ALL ARE WELCOME TO JOIN US FOR OUR ANNUAL EVENT

John Carroll University junior, Katie Neary, was looking for experience in her college major this summer.  St. Jerome had an opportunity.  Katie joined the parish office staff as a marketing and advertising intern to help spread the word about all that the parish has to offer.  Fr. Bill Jerse and the rest of the parish office staff recognized that Katie was perfect for the job at her first interview.  Katie remembers being greeted with smiles and refreshments and knew she would like working at St. Jerome, because it felt like home.

On a warm Sunday afternoon on June 26th St. Jerome hosted their annual parish picnic and raffle after Mass. The event began with a coffee and donut reception under the big tent outside the rectory. Many people from the St. Jerome community attended to support the church’s event. It was great for everyone to see former members including the Kovac, Vadnal, Girod, and Nolan families. Parishioners, along with students and their families also came for a bite to eat. One student attended who is starting the second grade at St. Jerome School this fall. She was eager to see where she will be going to school and meet the kind members of St. Jerome. Many women from the church made the picnic even more enjoyable by collecting gigantic gift baskets donated from local restaurants and businesses. The baskets were raffled off to help raise money for the church; many winners were ecstatic to receive their assorted prizes. The Holy Name Society grilled a delicious dinner including hot dogs and hamburgers while guests brought homemade side dishes. The event is always a great way to meet everyone who volunteers and makes St. Jerome the amazing community it is.

St. Jerome Church will again welcome the highly renowned CityMusic Cleveland Chamber Orchestra for a free concert Thursday, May 12, 2016.  Doors will open at 7 pm and the concert will begin at 7:30 pm.  No tickets are required for this family friendly event.  The program will include Mendelssohn’s Hebrides (Fingal’s Cave), Dvořák’s Violin Concerto, and conclude with Mendelssohn’s Symphony NO. 3.  Avner Dorman will conduct.

The May Crowning is an act of popular devotion to the mother of Jesus and is customarily held during May, the month of Mary.  The custom fell out of favor a few decades ago, but has recently made a comeback along with other traditional Catholic practices that serve to nurture the faith and devotion of the faithful.  The time-honored tradition at St. Jerome School and Church will continue in 2016.  On Wednesday, May 4, following the 8:30 a.m. All School Mass, Mary will be crowned outdoors with a wreath of spring flowers by second graders who made their First Holy Communion on May 1st.  Later in the month, on Sunday, May 15, members of the St. Jerome Altar & Rosary Society will crown a different statue of Mary in the church following the 10:00 a.m. Mass.  All are welcome to join the parish for this festive and joyous tribute to Our Lady.

This school year has been busy, but productive.  First, the 5-8 graders had a program called "GIRLS ROCK." This was a mentoring and role model program.  Girls Rock was a program to improve each scholar character, reduce the number of discipline referrals, and improve their academic performance.  Everyone that participated in this program achieved the goals that are listed.

This year in Music class the St. Jerome 8th graders have been working on a recording project. They are making their own recordings, playing and singing various parts of various songs. The class has learned the history of recording, from the days of “Direct to Disc” to modern digital, computer based techniques. They’ve also learned about different microphones and how to set them up to record with. Utilizing a portable studio, they’ve been busy laying down tracks that they will later mix down onto a CD.

This project has given the students an opportunity to apply their musical knowledge and talents to something that they will be able to listen to long after they have moved on to high school. They will be able to say that this is something that “We” made in music class. The project will tie together all the things that they have learned about in music in a fun and lasting way.

Stations of the Cross

Every Friday during Lent at 7:00 p.m.

Friday, March 4th

Friday, March 11th

Friday, March 18th

Friday, March 25th

Saturday & Sunday, March 5th & 6th

Food Pantry Collection After Weekend Masses

Monday, March 7th

Collinwood Catholic Parish Cluster

7:00 p.m. Mass at St. Casmir Church, Neff Rd

Homilist, Fr. Joseph O,Donnell

Our Lady Of Mt. Carmel

Sunday, March 13th

St. Jerome Altar & Rosary Society

Day of Recollection

Light Brunch

Deacon Ronald R. James, Holy Spirit Church - speaker

St. Jerome Convent, following 10:00 a.m. Mass

Monday, March 14th

Cluster Communal Penance Service

7:00 p.m. St. Jerome Church

Thursday, March 17th 

Irish Stew and Soda Bread

5:30-6:30 p.m. St. Jerome School Hall

CityMusic Cleveland Chamber Orchestra Concert

7:30 p.m. St. Jerome Church

HOLY WEEK

Palm Sunday

Saturday, March 19th - 4 p.m. Mass

Sunday, March 20th - 10 a.m. Mass -

Tenebrae Service

Wednesday, March 23rd - 7:00 p.m.

Holy Thursday Mass of the Lord’s Last Supper

Thursday, March 24th - 7:00 p.m.

We invite you to join us Sunday, March 13th for a Day of Recollection, beginning with Mass at 10:00 a.m. A light brunch wil be served in our convent following Mass. Our featured speaker will be Deacon Ronald R. James of Holy Spirit Church.

Please join us Thursday, March 17th at 7:30 p.m. as we welcome the CityMusic Cleveland Chamber Orchestra to St Jerome Church for the first of two free performances scheduled at St. Jerome in 2016. 

The Orchestra will be conducted by Joaquin Valdepenas and will feature soprano soloist, Jeanine DeBique.  The program will consist of:

Beethoven: Overture to “Prometheus 

Edvard Grieg: Peer Gynt, Solveig’s Song

George Bizet: Carmen, Je dis que rien ne m’epouvante

Puccini: La Boheme, Quando m’en vo’ soletta

Beethoven: Symphony No. 6

There is no charge for the concert and tickets are not required.  Prior to the concert we will serve Irish Stew, and Soda Bread in the school gym from 5:30-6:30 p.m. for $8 per person

In Social Studies the fifth graders just finished studying the different explorers that came to North America.  They had to do some research on their explorer and then write information on their display.  They also wrote a paragraph on why their explorer was so famous.  We have these displayed in our hallway right outside our fifth grade door for all to enjoy.

In English class the fifth graders learned how to put together a paragraph hamburger style.  They had to use the sandwich technique.  They wrote a topic sentence followed by 4 to 5 detailed sentences and then a conclusion.  Their paragraphs were very interesting with all the different kinds of ingredients that made their work fun to read.  They also wrote book reviews for Reading class to get other students interested in the good books that they read this year.

We have been working on all types of writing this year.  When we write in the fifth grade, we try to make it more interesting when we integrate English, Art, and Technology into our writing.  In the end they learn how to cook up some pretty impressive writings.