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Parish History
1993
On March 30th, Archbishop Daniel Buechlein
and Council of Priests of the Archdiocese
approved the establishment of a new parish in
northern Johnson County. Father Steve Jarrell
was named the first pastor of this new parish to
be named SS. FRANCIS & CLARE. In September, the
boundaries of this new parish were legally
established. In October the first Mass was held
at the home of Mike and Donna Austgen on the
Feast of St. Francis. The first regular Sunday
Mass was held in the cafeteria of Center Grove
Middle School on November 28th. The large crowd
forced the site to be moved to the gymnasium of
the school.
1994 In March, Father Steve
was installed as pastor by Archbishop Buechlein.
The 15- member Planning Committee was
commissioned and held its first meeting March
24th, creating several task groups to address
needs in the areas of real estate, finances,
youth, religious education and welcoming new
members. The Parish House was purchased to be
used as a residence for Fr. Steve, parish
offices and meeting rooms. The house was
remodeled during August and September. On
September 25 the first parish picnic was held at
the Center Grove Resort, the parish house being
dedicated the same day. In October the first
training session for liturgical ministers was
held and the Sunday morning religious education
program (grades 1-8) began. Archbishop Buechlein
approved the purchase of twenty six acres of
land at the southeast corner of the intersection
of Olive Branch and Mullinix Roads upon which
the church was to be built.
1995 In mid January, Fr.
Steve and the Planning Committee appointed the
Facilities Committee, which was charged with the
task of planning and coordinating the
construction of the Church and its supporting
structures. In August the architectural firm of
Woollen, Molzan and Partners was selected. The
first Pastoral Council election was held in
November.
1996 In March the Parish
kicked off its Founders’ Campaign, SS Francis &
Clare’s first formal capital campaign. In May,
site preparation began at the Parish’s Building
site. Archbishop Buechlein and Father Steve
celebrated the Groundbreaking Mass at the site
on June 23rd. In August, Bob Navarre was hired
as Construction Manager for the building
project. By December, the architects had
presented the plans for the new Parish
facilities to the parishioners.
1997 The cornerstone of the
Church was blessed on April 13th followed in
August, on the Feast Day of St. Clare, by the
Dedication Mass, and the Blessing and Sealing of
a Time Capsule at the site. In October, the
first ceremony, St. Francis “Transitus” was held
in the newly completed church. The official
Dedication of SS Francis & Clare Catholic Church
was held on October 5, 1997 presided over by
Archbishop Buechlein and Father Steve. Later
that year the National Pilgrim Virgin Statue of
Our Lady of Fatima was brought here for
veneration.
1998 The first Parish
Mission was held in March. On April 18th,
parishioners volunteered for the first Spring
Clean-up, Planting and Landscaping Day. Also in
April, twenty-five children received their First
Communion. Father Steve celebrated the 25th
anniversary of his Ordination on May 17th with
Mass and a Reception in the new church hall. By
November, the number of registered families had
increased to approximately 450.
1999 This year saw an
increase in membership to over 550 families.
Father Steve Jarrell announced that he would
remain pastor for another six years. The
Building and Grounds committee continued with
the landscaping of the property with trees and
shrubs most of which were donated by
parishioners and friends of the parish. The
creation of a Meditation Garden was begun. The
youth of the parish traveled to Appalachia on a
Mission. In the Fall, parishioners brought their
pets to Church for the annual Pet Blessing.
2000 The year of the Great
Jubilee. A pilgrimage was made to St. Meinrad in
August. We had an Archdiocesan-wide Eucharist
Celebration in September. During the Mass over
3,000 people were confirmed. Baptismal promises
were renewed. SSF&C had many parishioners
participating and volunteering in the grand
celebration. We hosted our first seminarian this
summer. Our membership continues to grow to 600
families.
2001 This was a year of
firsts: the first triplets to be baptized, the
largest group to participate in the RCIA, the
first Mass of Remembrance (Feb. 14), the first
Reverse Raffle Dinner sponsored by the Men's
Club, and the inauguration of the men's and
women's retreat movement: Christ Renews His
Parish. We suffered the loss of a Music
Director from January through June, but
volunteers stepped forward superbly and a new
director was hired during the summer. The Day
Care Ministry continues to grow. The parish
hosted international speaker Matthew Kelly twice
during the fall. The evangelization ministry
"Disciples in Ministry" was begun. The parish
house was sold and construction began on a new
rectory. Wednesday adoration of the Blessed
Sacrament began in August. Parish membership
continues to grow at nearly 700 families.
2002 Construction of our new
rectory was completed in the spring, and a
dedication and Open House was held in May. The
Adult Faith Formation Committee sponsored a
pilgrimage to Gesthemane and the Cathedral of
St. Joseph in Bardstown, Kentucky. In their
inaugural year, our Girls' CYO Basketball Team
won the Division Championship. Our membership
continues to grow to over 670 families.
2003 This year has been a year of continued
growth. We welcomed our second pastor to our
parish. Fr. Vince Lampert was installed by
Archbishop Buechlein in August. The committees
and ministries of our parish continue to
flourish. Our Parish Nurse Ministry started up
this year and our Mom’s Club published their
first cookbook. The parish published its third
pictorial directory. This year’s pilgrimage was
to the National Shine of St. Therese of Lisieux.
Parish membership continues to increase to over
720 families.
2004 This year was another year of continued
growth for the parish. In March our Parish
Nurse Ministry offered our first Health Fair.
Testing and information was given to over 150
people. To accommodate our parish growth we
added 72 parking spaces and additional pews for
the sanctuary which will seat an additional 150
people. This was the first year our parish
picnic was held on parish grounds. We have
entered the age of the World Wide Web by
offering a web site at
www.francisandclare.org This year’s
pilgrimage was to Italy where many parishioners
and friends toured many shrines of Italy. Our
membership continues to grow to 825 families.
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