The Catholic Church in Winston-Salem, North Carolina, began as a mission just over a hundred years ago. St. Leo the Great, the first organized Catholic Church in the community, began offering Holy Mass to its parishioners in May, 1929.

Whether beginning or growing, St. Leo's parish has sheltered its faithful, nurtured its youth, committed to God its dead, rescued its weary and lost, shared its love of Christ ecumenically, and accepted and protected newcomers within its midst. We have followed Christ's admonition to go into the world and serve God. That role of service began in our house of worship where liturgy, prayer, and service fostered love and compassion, creating a state of togetherness among our own and with those of other faiths and beliefs.

Now that our 72-year-old parish has restored its English Gothic church, it is time for us to renew our commitment to our youth, to our ministry for Hispanic communicants, to our honor for the dead, and our belief in the family life of service.

With those goals in mind, St. Leo's members indicated in a parish survey that it is time to take another step toward togetherness by constructing a Parish Life Center, by maintaining our school accreditation, by adding a columbarium to our campus as a final resting place for many who have spent their entire lives here, and by adding more parking space to accommodate the thriving Catholic parish activities of faith and works.

We are witnessing the ways in which a Catholic parish can grow under God's gifted light. To make our Catholic community even stronger, come let us join together in a financial campaign with a goal of $2.8 million. By grace, may it further encourage our service to God and His people. Let the words of our mouths and the mediations of our hearts make acceptable our works in progress in the name of our Lord.

 

Parish Growth
1993-1999

From 1993-1999, parish enrollment grew from 1150 to 1550.  Parish commitments and activities grew apace.

Parish Life Center
By creating a separate Parish Life Center, we can add a family facility for our church-related activities, with space for parish celebrations, youth programs, and outreach events.

Educational Facilities
Since 1972, our students have trained  to address, with Christian insight, the challenges of  society.  Today we must provide them a learning environment equipped for new requirements of high school and young adulthood.  Details.

Columbarium
Interment within the church can provide a visible link between deceased Christians and their church body, enabling families and friends to mourn and remember in an atmosphere of worship.

Additional Parking Space
To be good neighbors, and to answer a parish need, more off-street parking is needed to accommodate our growing membership.