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Blessed Sacrament History
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As early as 1910
Father Fox traveled from Orlando, a day’s journey, to
celebrate Mass in Minneola, a small city just north of
Clermont. Twenty-three years later, a small wooden frame
church was constructed on Lake Avenue in Clermont and
Blessed Sacrament was established as a mission church of St.
Mary of the Lakes in Eustis. Finally, fifty families had a
more permanent place of worship. The first Holy Sacrifice of
the Mass was celebrated on Christmas Day, 1933.
As early as 1910,
Catholic families gathered at various homes in Minneola and
Father Fox traveled from Orlando to Minneola, a day’s
journey, to celebrate Mass in the homes of the Lynch,
DyFrene and Frisz families. A temporary altar was set up in
the various homes and when the service was complete,
breakfast was served.
For the next
several years, Wilfred and Marie Frisz remained in the
Clermont area and played a major role in the development of
what was to become Blessed Sacrament Church. The Frisz
family purchased a small bus and provided transportaion to
local Catholic families who wished to travel to Eustis or
Fruitland Park for Sunday Mass. Mrs. Frances Oswalt, a
current parishioner, is one of the Frisz children.
Obviously, a more
permanent place of worship was needed and Mr. Charles Pool
donated four lots on Lake Avenue in Clermont. Finally, in
1933, twenty-three years later, a small wooden frame church
was constructed on this Lake Avenue property and Blessed
Sacrament was established as a mission church of St. Mary of
the Lakes in Eustis. Finally, fifty families had a more
permanent place of worship. The first Holy Sacrifice of the
Mass was celebrated on Christmas Day, 1933.
The year 1961
brought great changes to the Catholic community in Clermont.
Our mission church was elevated to the status of a parish
and Fr. Hugh Keane was assigned as the first Pastor. The
following year, Fr. Keane began a fund raising campaign to
build a new church on the Twelfth Street property which had
been purchased by Fr. Joseph Daly in 1956.
In 1963, a much
larger church was dedicated on the Twelfth Street land. In
1969, Fr Fabian Gimeno became Paster and assumed the
responsibilities of eliminating a large debt, dating back to
1963. When the debt was paid, in 1975, the interior of the
Twelfth Street Church was renovated, seating capacity was
doubled, and new pews and stained-glass windows were
installed. The parking lot was enlarged and landscaped and a
new entrance was provided. Additionally, Fr. Fabian oversaw
the construction of the rectory, parish hall, educational
buildings and church bell towers with the carillon.
In 1982, Fr. Jose
Mena became Pastor of Blessed Sacrament. In the 1980s, the
church community was growing rapidly, and Fr. Mena realized
the eventual need for a larger church. He began putting away
funds for this purpose. By 1990, the population of South
Lake County had exploded. Fr. Mena retired in 1994, and Fr.
Paige was appointed as an interim Pastor until Bishop Dorsey
appointed Fr. Andrew Wawrzycki as Pastor. Fr. Andy continued
planning for a new and larger church. Many improvements were
made to existing church buildings, ministries, and
children's education.
With the approval
of the Diocesan communities and the completion of a
successful fund drive, construction on the new church began
in 2000. With Fr.Andy's retirement in 2001, Bishop Dorsey
appointed Fr. Christopher Hoffmann as Pastor in August of
that year. On December 7, 2001, Fr. Hoffmann celebrated the
first Mass in the new church on the Vigil of the Immaculate
Conception. The dream of thousands of people had finally
been realized.
Following Fr.
Chris' transfer, Fr. Mark R. Wegg was appointed as Pastor in
November 2003.
Through the
continued support of the wonderful people of Blessed
Sacrament, our Parish will continue to grow and meet the
needs of the community in wisdom and grace.
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This page was last modified on
02/28/2008 02:20:42 PM
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