In September 1962, Fr. Joseph Beaumont, celebrated the first Catholic Mass in Bonita Springs, FL, at the community hall. Subsequently, the archdiocese of Miami purchased the 25 acre parcel of land which now encompasses St. Leo the Great Catholic Church.
In 1963 enough funds were collected to begin planning a new church which started as an A frame building, and served as a combination church and parish hall with a total seating capacity of 350 people. This church, St Leo the Great, was dedicated in August 1964 by Archbishop Carroll.
In 1967, the Diocese of St. Petersburg was formed and with this reorganization, St. Leo the Great Catholic Church became part of the Diocese of St. Petersburg.
In 1969, Fr. Beaumont was transferred from St. Leo Catholic Church to a Catholic church in Holiday, FL and the parish community welcomed Fr. John Foley as the new Pastor.
In 1972, Fr. Foley recognized the need for a separate activities building. The building project began and was completed in 1975.
By 1983, it was evident that the Catholic population of Bonita Springs had outgrown the original A-frame church and a building campaign began under Fr. Foley’s leadership.
In 1984, a new diocese, was formed and Bishop John Nevins was welcomed as shepherd. At that time, St. Leo Catholic Church was also welcomed as a parish of the Diocese of Venice.
In 1986 our current church building was completed with seating for 900 people in the main church and 150 people in the chapel.
After Fr. Foley’s death in 1990, Fr. Thaddeus Kloc was assigned as Pastor. During his time at St. Leo’s, Fr. Kloc completed the Centro Juan Diego building project, refurbished the rectory and made other improvements to the already existing church and parish hall.
After Fr. Kloc’s death in May 2002, Fr. Earnest Fears, previously serving as an Associate Pastor, was named as Priest Administrator for St. Leo Catholic Church. The building of the parish office and the JPII Youth & Family Formation Building began immediately prior to Fr. Fears death in March 2005.
Fr. Stan Strycharz was appointed as Administrator of St. Leo the Great Parish in June 2005. At that time, he was able to oversee the successful completion of the current parish offices and JPII Youth & Family Formation Building. He also worked to beautify the campus, repair structural damage which resulted from Hurricane Wilma, while serving the poor and needy of the community, especially during Tropical Storm Faye.
In August 2007, Bishop Frank Dewane recognized the need for the expansion and renovation of St. Leo the Great Parish in order to better accommodate the growing number of parishioners. A capital campaign, entitled Making Room for More, was launched in February 2008 and groundbreaking and construction began in June 2008 with a completion date of March 2009! Due to the great success of the capital campaign, which raised $7.9 million dollars, St. Leo Parish will begin Phase II of their project – the Parish Life & Education Center, in the summer of 2009. Today the parish serves over 2,200 registered families.
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