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St. leo cHurcH
The rst Catholic Mass in North Parma, N.Y., was celebrated by Father James E. Hartley in August 1881 in Tennison’s Hall at the corner of South Avenue and Main Street.
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And it was under Father Hartley’s leadership that the St. Leo Church came into being in 1884, initially as a mission of St. John the Evangelist in Spencerport. The parish community comprised families living in northern Parma and parts of
Hamlin and Greece.
On June 11, 1946, Bishop James E. Kearney established St. Leo as a parish in its own right and appointed Father John L. Maxwell, a former U.S. Navy chaplain, as its rst pastor. In 1966 the parish’s new building at 167 Lake Ave. was completed, and the rst Mass was celebrated on July 3. The former church was converted into a community and parish meeting center. In 1978 a rectory and of ce complex was completed at the south end of the parish center.
In 1968 Father Chester M. Klocek was appointed pastor. Father Klocek had such a great devotion to the Blessed Mother that, at his own expense, he had a grotto and garden constructed in her honor in 1986. Parishioners did most of the work on the grotto, which created a secluded place for quiet mediation and prayer. In 2004, Stations of the Cross and benches to the grotto were added in memory of a parishioner.
St. Leo remains the Catholic presence in the Hilton-Parma area and is now home to more than 1,200 registered parish families.