3205 Fulton Rd., Cleveland, OH 44109, US

(216) 961-8331

(216) 961-8331

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Saint Rocco Parish

Saint Rocco ParishSaint Rocco ParishSaint Rocco Parish

Welcome

WelcomeWelcome
Bulletin

JOIN ALPHA

Alpha is an experience of coming together with others in small groups, in a spirit of joy, to encounter and nurture a personal relationship with Jesus Christ.  Each session typically includes a free meal, a short film with big ideas about an element of faith and meaning, and a time for people to share their own experiences, questions, and perspectives with others who are searching for more in life. Alpha is a series of sessions (10 sessions: beginning September 10 and concluding November 12) exploring the Christian faith, typically run over eleven weeks. Each talk looks at a different question around faith and is designed to create conversation.  Alpha is for ANYONE no matter background, age, or experience in faith.  Those in Alpha accompany each other and are challenged in prayer to recognize the many glimpses of grace that fill a day.  Participants share, in very simple ways, the love of Christ through joyful presence, compassionate listening, and engaging storytelling.\

Every Wednesday, Saint Rocco School Cafeteria 6:30pm. SEE YOU THERE!

MASS BOOK 2026

The new Mass Book for 2026 will open on Friday October 24th. First come first serve basis. Only those Mass intentions that have their offering will be recorded in the book. No offering, no guaranteed date or time for your desired intention. Remember, Masses may be offered for the souls of the dead and the living.

OUTDOOR STATUES:

As you can see, we now have the beautiful additions of the statutes of St. John Paul II and the Sacred Heart of Jesus to our parish grounds. 

Anyone wishing to donate for the brick pedestal for St. John Paul II, the cost is : $ 2,500.00 

For the statue and the brick pedestal for the Sacred Heart of Jesus, the cost is: $ 6,200.00 

BLANKET SUNDAY: St. VINCENT de PAUL

The annual Blanket Sunday Appeal by the St. Vincent DePaul Society is today October 12th. Help SVDP to purchase warm blankets, beds and other winter essentials throughout the various hunger centers, Labre and other programs in NE Ohio. There are envelopes in the pews for you to help and donate for this cause. You may also scan the QR code or donate at BlanketSunday.org. You can make a check to SVDP and mail it to 1404 E. 9th St., Cleveland OH 44114.

MASS with ANOINTING OF THE SICK

The weekend of November 15/16th the Sacramental Anointing of the Sick will be offered at all the Masses. 


ALL SOULS DAY

All Souls' Day, also called The Commemoration of All the Faithful Departed, is a day of prayer and remembrance for the faithful departed. Please turn in your All Souls’ Day envelopes with the names of your deceased you wish to have remembered at the Altar on November 2nd and the month of November.  

TUESDAY ADORATION OF THE HOLY EUCHARIST

Take some time this summer, and visit with Jesus in the Most Blessed Sacrament, every Tuesday in our parish Chapel dedicated to St. Raymond Nonnatus, 7am to 7pm. 


Mass of Thanksgiving 2025

Check out this great video

Contact

Youth Faith Formation (PSR)

Youth Faith Formation (PSR)

3205 Fulton Rd

Cleveland, OH 44109


(216) 961-8331

(216) 961-1845 Fax

Youth Faith Formation (PSR)

Youth Faith Formation (PSR)

Youth Faith Formation (PSR)

Children’s Faith Formation at the parish includes the Parish School of Religion (PSR) & Sacramental Preparation for First Reconciliation, First Eucharist, and Confirmation. Through small group classes, we provide pre-kindergarten to eighth grade students with catechesis and sacramental preparation. Classes run September through April and are held on Sunday mornings. For more details and to register your child or family member for PSR and/or sacramental preparation, please call the parish office or contact Maria Wancata at mwancata@srsk8.net.

Youth Faith Formation (PSR)

Latest Vatican News
Download PDF

  We are in the process of updating our parish data base. IF you regularly attend Mass here at St. Rocco, why not officially register as a parishioner? Help us to continue to edify the Body of Christ here on Cleveland’s West-Side. To register or update your registration simply complete the information form below and drop it in the collection basket or mail it to the Parish Office. We deeply appreciate your help with this matter. God bless you! 

UPDATE REGISTRATION (pdf)

Download

LA DOMENICA

Click below for the La Domenica

La Domenica

St. Rocco Men of Faith Group

St. Rocco Men of Faith Group serving breakfast for the residents and guests at Saint Herman`s on Sat.Feb 8th. 

All men consider

Why You Should Become a Knight (pdf)Download

Parish Picnic 2021

    The St. Raymond Nonnatus Foundation

     The St. Raymond Nonnatus Foundation for Freedom, Family, and Faith is here to support families in crisis.   


    Since 2015, our initial mission continues in our outreach to families and individuals affected by divorce and separation.

    Please consider supporting us by going to our website at www.nonnautus.org and learning about our mission.  

    Our "Support Us" button is on the first page of our website.  Any size donation is helpful to us to reach more families in crisis.

    We offer free "On-Line Support Meetings for Divorced/Separated Catholics" and support meetings for "Adult Children of Divorce". 

    Keep us in mind if you or someone you know could use our services.  Information about these free support groups are on our website.

    Find us on social media at "Philly Nonnatus" and "St. Raymond Nonnatus Foundation".

    Most of all, please pray for our mission. 

    We welcome hearing from you, so feel free to reach out to us with a prayer request by emailing us at director.srnf@gmail.com.

    God bless you,

    The St. Raymond Nonnatus Foundation
    director.srnf@gmail.com
    215-870-9913 

    FATHER SEVERINO

    The image of Fr. Severino Moltini, O. de M., can be found in the Zannoni Chapel (back south west corner of the Church). As we begin this process of collecting information and offering our intentions through the intercession of Fr. Severino, please remember to keep a record of any “miracles” attributed to his intercession. If you or you know of anyone who has stories or can offer testimonies to the holiness of Fr. Severino’s life, please contact the parish office. Fr. Severino, pray for us!

    Link for The Mercedarian Order

    Find out more

    Cleveland Senior Care and Assisted Living Guide

     https://www.caring.com/senior-living/assisted-living/ohio/cleveland  

      The First & Oldest Italian Parish on Cleveland’s West Side

      Our History

      It’s not unusual to read a story about nineteenth or twentieth century working class immigrants who scrimped, saved, and did without to raise funds to build some of Cleveland’s grandest and most enduring sacred landmarks. What is unusual, however, is to learn about a parish where such immigrants did not just scrimp and save, but also actually built the sacred landmark themselves. That is the story of St. Rocco Catholic Church, referred to in a 1964 Plain Dealer article as Cleveland’s “Do-It-Yourself” parish. 


      St. Rocco, which recently celebrated its centennial anniversary, was given this label because of the numerous self-build projects undertaken over the years by the parish, including construction of the current church in the years 1949 to 1952. Almost from the start, self-building became a feature of the parish. 


      In 1914, a group of immigrants from the village of Noicattaro in the Apulia region of southern Italy, living in and around Fulton Road and Trent Avenue, met in the grocery store of fellow immigrant John Zaccaro and undertook to establish the first Italian parish on the west side. Believing that building a church would lead to diocesan recognition, they self-built a small brick structure in 1917-1918 on a single lot of land on Trent Avenue, just a stone’s throw away from today’s Fulton Road campus. The church was named St. Rocco, after the patron saint of the sick, who was especially venerated in southern Italy. Despite their effort, the parish was not officially recognized until 1922, when Cleveland Bishop Joseph Schrembs appointed Father Alphonse Di Maria, the assistant pastor at St. Anthony Italian Church in downtown Cleveland, as the first pastor. 


      In 1924, the Order of the Blessed Virgin Mary of Mercy (Mercedarian Order) was given charge of the parish and Father Sante Gattuso, a priest from Sicily, appointed second pastor, replacing Father Di Maria, who had resigned for health reasons. Father Gattuso would serve as pastor for the next 42 years. By the time of his appointment, immigrants from Faeto in the Apulia region, Guilianova in the central region, Laganadi in the Calabria region, Floridia in Sicily, and from other villages in southern and central Italy had become members of the fledgling parish. Immigrants from Trento and other towns in northern Italy began joining the parish later in the decade. Father Gattuso almost immediately embarked upon an ambitious building plan for the fast-growing parish. He purchased land on the east side of Fulton Road, south of Clark Avenue, and hired a contractor who in 1926 built a new and larger church with attached school building on the new Fulton Road campus.


      In the decade of the 1930s, as the Great Depression crippled the American economy, St. Rocco parish began self-building again. In 1933, the parish self-built an addition to the school and then in 1935 one to the parish house. In 1940, Father Gattuso planned for the parish to build a new and larger church, but World War II intervened. During the war years, the men of the parish–many of them working in the building trades–saved bricks and other materials from building sites, literally creating a brick yard on the church campus. In 1949, construction of the new church finally began. Scores of parishioners volunteered their time, the men excavating, erecting the superstructure, and doing the masonry work, while women brought home-cooked meals to the site. Even retired parishioners contributed. Michael Girardi, Gaetano Farrugia, and Gennaro Di Pasquale, all elderly immigrants from southern Italy, were singled out for special recognition and became known as the Three Musketeers. In 1952, when the church was completed, Father Gattuso estimated that the labor donated by the parish had saved the church hundreds of thousands of dollars. 


      In the years that followed, additional self-build projects were undertaken by the parish, especially in the decade of the 1950s. In 1955, interior decorations were made to the church. The following year, the old church was converted into a gym for school children. In 1957, a memorial to the members of the parish who had served in World War II was built and, later in the same year, the grade school was remodeled. In 1959, parishioners constructed a one-story addition onto the school. The parish continued to undertake self-build projects throughout the remaining decades of the twentieth century, helping to defray the cost of maintaining an inner city church. Perhaps its history of self-building is one reason why today in the second decade of the twenty-first century St. Rocco Church is still a fixture as well as one of the most important community assets in the Clark-Fulton neighborhood. 


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