St. John Bosco Catholic Church, 6480 Pearl Road, Parma Heights, is gearing up for the annual International Festival, hosted by the parish and The Home Family Italian Club, 6450 Pearl Road. This year’s event will be Aug. 12-15 on the church grounds.
It's bound to be a bittersweet year for parishioners and for SJB's Rev. David D. Liberatore.
Liberatore started the festival years ago, and this will be his last as the head of one of our community’s largest Roman Catholic parishes.
As RH told you exclusively two weeks ago, Liberatore will retire in September after almost 29 years leading St. John Bosco parish.
He turned 75 Feb. 12, and diocesan rules require that clergy retire at age 75.
More on Liberatore in a moment.
The International Festival hours will be 6-10 p.m. Aug. 12; 6 p.m. to midnight Aug. 13; 1 p.m. to midnight Aug. 14 and 1-9 p.m. Aug. 15.
Admission is free.
Like last year, there will be a grand prize drawing in a raffle for a $10,000 cash prize, which will take place at 8 p.m. Aug. 15.
The weekend also will feature rides for children and adults, ethnic foods, games of chance and a chocolate fountain, along with a full slate of entertainment.
Different Directions will perform from 7-10 p.m. Aug. 12.
From 7-11 p.m. Aug. 13, you can enjoy the sounds of Cavalieri Reale.
The ReBeats will be in concert from 3-6 p.m. Aug. 14, followed by Mad Jr. from 7:30-11:30 p.m. Aug. 14.
On Aug. 15, The New Barleycorn will perform from 2-5 p.m., and Shout! will close the festival entertainment from 6:30-9 p.m. on that date.
Liberatore tells RH he hopes for a collective attendance of more than 30,000 visitors. The International Festival happens with the volunteer efforts of between 200 and 300 SJB parishioners.
On Sept. 15, Liberatore becomes senior parochial vicar at the Church of St. Basil the Great on Brecksville Road in Brecksville, as appointed by Cleveland Catholic Diocese Bishop Richard Lennon.
Replacing Liberatore at St. John Bosco will be the Rev. Larry Jurcak.
In his new role at St. Basil, Liberatore will be focusing solely on ministry.
“I’m happy that St. Basil’s is willing to take me on,” Liberatore said during an interview in his comfortable office last week.
He admits that he is sad to be leaving St. John Bosco.
“This is my family. To move from your family is sad.”
Liberatore was ordained before Vatican Council II.
He was ordained at the Cathedral of St. John the Divine, in downtown Cleveland on May 28, 1960 by then Auxiliary Bishop John Krol, who went on to become the cardinal archbishop of Philadelphia.
He celebrated his first Mass at St. Mark’s Catholic Church on Montrose Avenue on the West Side of Cleveland, served as associate pastor at the Church of St. Clare in Lyndhurst for 11 months after that, and was on the faculty of Borromeo Seminary for 15 years.
As the founding pastor of St. Elizabeth Ann Seton parish in Columbia Station, Liberatore spent 5½ years there.
He was installed as the pastor at St. John Bosco on St. Valentine’s Day, Feb. 14, 1982.
“A priest is really nothing but an instrument through which Christ works,” Liberatore said.
His ministry has changed dramatically in almost 29 years at SJB and certainly in the 50 years since his ordination, marked by SJB parishioners this past May 23.
“There’s a lot more single parents than when I was ordained 50 years ago. So many people are so secularized by society today. They aren’t going to church. Evangelism has to be a top priority to bring them back,” Liberatore said.
He’s very computer savvy at 75, is on Facebook, although he said he doesn’t use the social networking site often, and he has an iPhone and an iPad.
As of this writing, no big bon voyage is planned when Liberatore moves on after his last Mass the weekend of Sept. 12.
“I think I’d like to do it very low-key,” he said of the impending goodbye.
Liberatore said the May celebration of his Golden Jubilee was “a tough one,” emotionally speaking.
Liberatore was instrumental in the construction of the church’s Adoration Chapel, which is open 24 hours a day and allows for prayer, reflection and perpetual eucharistic adoration.
The chapel opened on New Year’s Eve 1999, Liberatore said.
“Miracles are happening in the lives of people because of the power of prayer in that chapel,” he said.
The parish has also gained notice for it's music ministry, led by Director of Music and Liturgy Norman Cotone, a former member of Rainbow Canyon, a rock group that frequented Cleveland's Agora years ago.
Liberatore said he hopes his legacy will be “bringing people closer to Christ through the Eucharist — teaching about it, preaching about it and living it (myself).
“The thing I’m most proud of, and the thing that is affecting the most people is the renewal of our liturgy and an emphasis on the Eucharist.”
In his limited free time, Liberatore likes to write — “I write a little column every week in the bulletin” — and says that perhaps one day he’d like to write a book.
For relaxation and fun he plays golf, does yard work, and said he used to play a lot of handball.
“I like to go down to Walt Disney World,” he said, pointing to a gift from a parishioner that adorns his office — a stained glass window featuring Mickey Mouse.
"I'm a Mickey fan," he said. "But Donald Duck is my favorite Disney character. I always thought Donald was the man."
Liberatore, who threw out the first pitch at Saturday’s Indians game in celebration of his Golden Jubilee year, is a southpaw.
You, like RH, might be wondering when Liberatore first heard God’s call.
“Sometime in sixth or seventh grade,” Liberatore said. “You just know. There was no question in my mind that that is what the Lord wanted me to do,” Liberatore said.
He is happy and has no regrets.
“If I had it to do over again, I would do it,” he said.
BREWING UP A SUCCESS — Dave Clark, of Seven Hills, claimed a silver medal with a specialty cider in the 32nd annual American Homebrewers Association 2010 National Homebrew Competition as part of the group's conference, banquet and awards ceremony in Minneapolis.
The 2010 National Homebrew Competition is the world’s largest beer competition with 6,287 homemade brews from 1,599 homebrewers in 50 states and the District of Columbia, six Canadian provinces, and England in the first round.
He brewed the silver medal-winning apple cider at his home last fall. He aged it all winter on cinnamon sticks.
A NEW ACQUISITION — Parma Community General Hospital has acquired the Ridge Park Square location of Spectrum Imaging. It will now be known as Parma Hospital Diagnostic Imaging at Ridge Park Square.
Imaging services offered at Ridge Park Square include x-ray, CT, MRI, nuclear medicine, bone density, ultrasound, mammography and vascular ultrasound. The 13 former Spectrum employees now work for the hospital.
The office is located at 7575 Northcliff Ave., Brooklyn. Hours will remain 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday, Wednesday, Thursday and Friday; 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. Tuesday; and 8 a.m. to noon every other Saturday beginning this week. Call (216) 398-5551.
MEET THE SUPERINTENDENT — You still have one chance to meet new Parma City School District Superintendent Dr. Jeffrey Graham before he officially begins his duties next month.
The third in a three-part series of “Meet the Superintendent Nights” will be held at 7 p.m. Wednesday in the auditorium of Valley Forge High School, 9999 Independence Blvd., Parma Heights.
Graham will begin his duties Aug. 2.
FIFTY GOLDEN YEARS TOGETHER – RH offers special congratulations to dear friends and Seven Hills residents Carl and Peggy Beduhn on the occasion of their 50th wedding anniversary.
Carl Beduhn served with the Maple Heights Police Department for 31 years, retiring as lieutenant and shift commander Dec. 31, 1998.
Peggy Beduhn is retired after a long career in the retail food industry with Giant Eagle Supermarkets.
The Beduhns were married July 16, 1960, and celebrated their special day with a 7 a.m. Mass at St. Columbkille Catholic Church, with the Rev. Kevin Estabook officiating.
The couple was feted at a July 17 family dinner in the Founders Room of the Mapleside Farms Restaurant in Brunswick.
The couple are the parents of three children: Carl Beduhn of Geneva, a longtime employee of Giant Eagle Supermarkets; Mary Kay Beduhn of Brecksville, an employee of EMC; and Janet Zaccaro of Medina, human resources director for Discount Drug Mart; and eight grandchildren: Carrie, Sarah, Kathryn, Julia, Stanley and Andrew Beduhn, and Alexis and Matthew Zacccaro.
Among the guests was 91-year-old Angeline Zaremba of Parma Heights, Peggy Beduhn's mother.
A FINAL, PERSONAL NOTE – You are reading this column on what would have been my father Stan's 86th birthday.
As many of you know, he passed away March 29 after a lengthy illness.
Almost four months later, I continue to be heartened by your continued expressions of condolence and sympathy at his passing. The cards, e-mails and phone calls mean more than you will ever know.
I cannot help but think of him today, as I do every day.
I miss him. I love him.
And I always will.
Happy birthday, dad. Life is not the same without you.
Contact Haase at rick.haase@sbcglobal.net.