Blessed Sacrament Catholic Community is based at 720 12th Street in Clermont and is known for joining English- and Spanish-language Catholic worship with formation for every generation, Eucharistic adoration, music, and practical service. Its principal church is in Clermont, while Santo Toribio Romo in Mascotte serves the western part of the same Catholic community. The community describes its mission as encountering true presence, sharing true love, and making a true impact.
From Family Homes to Two Churches
Long before either church building existed, Catholic life in the Clermont area grew through ordinary homes. As early as 1910, families gathered in Minneola while Father Fox traveled from Orlando, a day's journey away, to celebrate Mass in the homes of the Lynch, DyFrene and Frisz families. A temporary altar was set up for each celebration, and breakfast followed. Wilfred and Marie Frisz then bought a small bus to carry families to Sunday Mass in Eustis or Fruitland Park. Their commitment helped turn scattered home worship into a lasting parish.
Charles Pool donated four lots on Lake Avenue, and a small wooden-frame mission church was completed in 1933. Its first Mass was on Christmas Day. In 1961, the mission became a parish under the first pastor, the Reverend Hugh Keane. A fundraising campaign began the next year, and a new church was blessed on Twelfth Street in 1963; that building is now Saint John Bosco Hall. The second pastor, the Reverend Fabian Gimeno, paid the building debt, doubled the seating, added pews and stained-glass windows, and oversaw the rectory, parish hall, educational buildings, and church towers with a carillon. The original rectory now houses parish offices, and many of the other buildings remain in use.
Blessed Sacrament originally belonged to the Diocese of Saint Augustine. On June 18, 1968, the Diocese of Orlando was formed, bringing the parish into the jurisdiction of Bishop William Borders. Growth continued under the Reverend Jose Mena, who began saving for a larger church, and the Reverend Andrew Wawrzycki, who carried that work forward. Construction on the present church began in 2000, and the Reverend Christopher Hoffmann celebrated its first Mass on December 7, 2001. The Reverend Mark Wegg succeeded him in 2003, and the community of Saint Faustina was formed in 2007 as the parish grew. The Reverend Robert Webster became pastor in 2008 and oversaw construction of Santo Toribio Romo, whose first Mass was celebrated on Christmas Eve 2008 and whose blessing took place on February 15, 2009. The Reverend Mark Wajda, appointed parochial administrator in 2020, now serves as pastor and continues to unite the Clermont and Mascotte churches.
Weekend Masses in Clermont and Mascotte
Blessed Sacrament extends a direct invitation to anyone who wants to experience parish worship: “We would be thrilled to welcome you to our church community.” Visitors can attend Mass before joining parish life, and English and Spanish liturgies make that first welcome possible at both churches.
- Blessed Sacrament, Clermont: English Mass at 8:30 a.m. Monday through Saturday; Saturday at 4:00 p.m.; and Sunday at 8:00, 10:00, and noon. Spanish Mass is celebrated Saturday at 6:00 p.m. and Thursday at 7:00 p.m.
- Santo Toribio Romo, Mascotte: Saturday Mass at 4:00 p.m. in English; Sunday Mass at 8:00 a.m., 10:00 a.m., and noon in Spanish; and a 7:00 p.m. Spanish Mass on the first Friday of each month.
- Reconciliation: Saturday from 2:00 to 3:00 p.m. at Blessed Sacrament, or by appointment.
The main parish office is at 720 12th St, Clermont, FL 34711. It is open Monday through Thursday from 9:30 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. and Friday from 9:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. The office phone is 352-394-3562. Visitors who wish to register as members may use the parish registration form or register at the parish office. The Santo Toribio Romo office is open Wednesday and Thursday from 2:00 to 6:00 p.m. For those at a distance, the Mass livestream and recorded Masses make the celebrations accessible beyond Clermont and Mascotte.
A first Mass here is a Catholic Eucharistic liturgy with readers, hospitality ministers, music, prayer, and the Eucharist at its center. The Welcome Committee greets new and newly returning people and introduces them to ministries and volunteer opportunities. The religious gift shops in the narthex of both churches and the parish library beside the main church open around weekend Masses.
A Bilingual Liturgy Shaped by Music and Service
Music and hospitality are integral to the way worship is described at Blessed Sacrament. Readers proclaim the Good News; Ministers of Hospitality welcome people, tend to needs during liturgy, gather gifts, and bid farewell; Extraordinary Ministers of Holy Communion distribute the Body and Blood of Christ; and altar servers prepare the altar and assist at Mass, funerals, and weddings. Sacristans care for sacred vessels, vestments, and other liturgical items, while the Art and Environment Committee tends the church's worship environment through each liturgical season.
The parish supports a wide range of musical voices. The Sanctuary Choir traditionally sings at the 10:00 a.m. Sunday Mass, and Schola Cantorum, a smaller ensemble drawing on many styles of non-secular music, sings at the noon Mass. The Children's Choir serves at noon Mass once a month and at special celebrations; its Wednesday rehearsal is also a place to learn about the Mass through music, art, and fellowship. The Spanish Choir leads the Saturday 6:00 p.m. Spanish liturgy with traditional and contemporary music from Hispanic cultures and rehearses weekly in the chapel. Cantors, instrumentalists, and the Contemporary Ensemble add further leadership, while the Resurrection Choir provides music for funerals. Together, these ministries show a worship style rooted in Catholic liturgy while drawing on both traditional and contemporary repertoire.
Beyond Mass, the Music and Liturgy department presents programs such as the Living Last Supper and an annual Christmas Concert. These events welcome the broader Central Florida community, including people of all faith traditions, and support the parish's outreach in music and worship.
Hours of Eucharistic Adoration
Blessed Sacrament treats Eucharistic Adoration as a response to Jesus' love: a quiet holy hour spent regularly in prayer before his Eucharistic presence. The practice combines silent reflection, thanksgiving, and worship, with the stated aim of deepening the relationship with Christ and drawing people closer to him.
- First Sunday: 6:00 to 7:00 p.m. in Our Lady's Chapel.
- Every Thursday: 6:00 to 7:00 p.m. in the main church.
- First Friday: 9:30 a.m. to 7:00 p.m. in Our Lady's Chapel.
- Other Fridays: 9:30 a.m. to noon in Our Lady's Chapel.
The first Friday begins after the morning Mass and gives worshipers a long morning of prayer, while the weekly Thursday hour offers a consistent evening devotion. The Sunday gathering and Friday hours are held in Our Lady's Chapel; Thursday adoration is in the main church.
Faith Formation from Childhood to the Youth Center
Faith formation is organized around families, church seasons, and the needs of students at different stages. Wednesday classes form the main school-year rhythm. Parents new to the parish register the family first and then enroll children; Spanish-language registration guidance is provided, and forms for children's participation are available in English and Spanish. Children in the OCIA program have Sunday-morning classes except on holidays, and a parent or another adult attends with each child. The parish also provides Catholic video, lecture, and reading materials through FORMED, which parishioners can access with the parish code 34711.
Music is both formation and service for younger students. The Children's Choir meets Wednesday from 5:35 to 6:10 p.m., sings at the noon Mass once a month, and helps with special events. Its ministry combines learning about the Mass and the arts with fellowship and opportunities for middle- and high-school students to earn service hours. The Junior Youth Group for middle-school students meets Sunday from 3:00 to 5:00 p.m. in the Youth Center, while the high-school Youth Group meets from 6:00 to 8:00 p.m. The Youth Center, at 1190 W. Desoto Street in Clermont, also offers games and informal conversation as part of youth-group life. The youth team is dedicated to helping young Catholics identify what is Good, True, and Beautiful as disciples of Jesus Christ.
Family life continues through BSCC Moms, a fellowship for mothers and children of all ages. Weekly Thursday gatherings at 7:00 p.m. in the Young Adult Ministry Building include prayer nights, a group rosary, faith-based videos and studies, game nights, monthly birthday celebrations, playdates, family picnics, volunteering, and shared meals after the 10:00 a.m. Sunday Mass. The group is organized around friendship, mutual support, and opportunities for young families to grow together.
Adult study groups meet throughout the week. Monday evening Bible study runs from 7:00 to 9:00 p.m.; Tuesday and Thursday morning studies meet from 9:30 to 11:30 a.m.; and a Friday study for men ages 18 to 25 runs from 7:30 to 10:30 p.m. The Young Adult ministry is coordinated by Kaitlin Menner. Separate Spanish and English registration paths are available for adult sacramental preparation. For families seeking a Catholic home-education setting, the West Orlando chapter of Catholic Schoolhouse meets weekly with classroom time, chorus, hands-on science, art, and socialization.
Backpack Meals, Recovery Support, and Hands-On Service
The Backpack Program provides weekly food assistance to about 200 local children. Blessed Sacrament has moved away from operating a traditional food pantry and concentrates its resources on children who need kid-friendly food with little or no preparation. The parish particularly requests individual oatmeal, macaroni and cheese, tuna, peanut butter, ramen noodles, Vienna sausages, snacks, individual containers of Beef A Roni, cereal, and juice boxes. It also asks for newborn and size 1 diapers and wipes for a pregnancy center. Used clothing, toys, and housewares are not accepted, and the parish does not operate a thrift store. Parish giving is available through online giving.
Rose of Sharron Ministries extends the community's service toward people navigating recovery and homelessness, with a mission of providing a helping hand and support during the journey toward stability and well-being. Breaking Bread volunteers prepare and serve food for parish retreats, conferences, family gatherings after funerals, and the volunteer appreciation dinner, with food safety and sanitation built into their work.
Men's and women's groups add both service and fellowship. The Men's Club meets on the second Tuesday at 6:30 p.m., supports the parish through roles such as lector, usher, and Extraordinary Minister of Holy Communion, and funds assistance through its monthly pancake breakfast, held after the 8:00 and 10:00 a.m. Sunday Masses. Its giving supports projects involving the American Legion, Coats for Kids, a Uganda mission, seminarians, the Lake Hills School, the USO, and families in need. The Council of Catholic Women meets on the third Tuesday from September through May, supports a seminarian, makes blankets, clothing, and prayer shawls for local organizations and a mission church in Uganda, and joins national, diocesan, and deanery Catholic women's groups. Knights of Columbus members support the Backpack Program, Lake Hills School, JMJ Pregnancy Support Center, Cornerstone Hospice House, the Greater Clermont Cancer Foundation, Morning Star, Special Olympics, and families in need, and they also prepare Thanksgiving meals for people in the community.
Two ministries bring the community beyond its church buildings. Prison Ministry ministers every Tuesday at Lake Correctional Facility in Clermont, including RCIA preparation for inmates who wish to receive sacraments and spiritual guidance and counseling. Ministry to the Sick brings the Eucharist and the Word of God to people who cannot join the faith community, with scheduled visits to local nursing homes, assisted-living centers, the hospital, the homes of sick and shut-in parishioners, and Mike Conley Hospice House. GriefShare provides a 13-week support group for people navigating grief, with attention to the changing emotions of the process rather than fixed stages.
Safeguarding Children and Vulnerable People
The Diocese of Orlando's Safe Environment program combines education and awareness with fingerprinting and background checks to prevent abuse of children and vulnerable people. All church personnel and volunteers who work with children or vulnerable populations must complete Safe Environment training. Volunteers ages 15 and older must also submit a criminal background-check form and fingerprints so that a background investigation can be completed.
Sacraments, Marriage, and Care Around Loss
The sacramental life of the parish includes Baptism, Confirmation, Eucharist, Reconciliation, Anointing of the Sick, Matrimony, and Holy Orders. In the church's teaching, Baptism is the foundation of Christian initiation, calling a person to walk in Christ's light, trust in his wisdom, and begin a new life with God. Confirmation deepens baptismal life and forms missionary witnesses for Jesus Christ in family, neighborhood, society, and the world. The Eucharist is the “source and summit” of Christian life: through the Holy Spirit and the ministry of the priest, bread and wine become the Body and Blood of Jesus Christ under the appearances of bread and wine, the “Real Presence” of Christ.
Penance and Reconciliation restore friendship with God after sin. Anointing of the Sick addresses serious illness with the possibility of physical healing and, above all, spiritual healing through the Holy Spirit's gifts of peace and courage. Matrimony is understood as a permanent covenant within the Eucharistic liturgy, and couples are asked to allow at least six months for marriage preparation. The Annulment preparation process explains that a Declaration of Nullity judges the validity of a union from the beginning without establishing guilt or innocence and has no civil effect.
Funeral and memorial care is organized through the Order of Christian Funerals, with planning help for funeral Masses, chapel services, and graveside rites. The bereavement ministry invites the whole community to help a family after a death, while the Resurrection Choir supports funeral gatherings with music. The parish also accepts Mass intentions for daily and weekend Masses and offers a Memorial Mass Association that remembers a loved one's name each Wednesday for one year.
Clergy and Ministry Leaders
The pastoral team consists of the Reverend Mark Wajda as pastor and the Reverends Juan Osorno and Roy Eco as parochial vicars. Kaitlin Menner coordinates youth ministry; Chris Stalnaker directs faith formation; Christine Palmer is assistant director of faith formation and coordinates faith formation at Santo Toribio Romo; and Teresa Quiñones coordinates Hispanic ministry. These roles connect worship at Clermont and Mascotte with a shared parish calendar of worship, formation, service, and prayer within the Diocese of Orlando.
That continuity is visible in the full rhythm of parish life: Mass in English and Spanish, weekday and weekend worship, hours before the Blessed Sacrament, formation from childhood onward, music-led liturgy, meals and support for children, care for those who are sick or grieving, and service to people who are incarcerated or without stable housing. From the first home Masses in 1910, Blessed Sacrament Catholic Community continues to gather at 720 12th Street in Clermont and 1043 East Myers Boulevard in Mascotte.