St. Luke the Evangelist Parish sits at 1212 Bunts Road on the north side of Lakewood, Ohio, where Clifton Boulevard meets Bunts Road. The parish is one of three Roman Catholic parishes that form the Lakewood Catholic Family, alongside St. Clement and St. James, and it serves Catholics across the western Cleveland suburbs from a building whose marble, stained glass and bronze relics reach back more than seven decades. Founded in 1922, St. Luke is best known in the wider Church for two things that belong to the same story. The first is its reverence at the altar, centered in the celebration of the Eucharist as the source and summit of Catholic faith. The second is its longstanding devotion to the twentieth-century martyrs of El Salvador, including the young Lakewood woman Jean Donovan, who had been a St. Luke parishioner before she answered a call to serve in Central America and was killed along with three other churchwomen in 1980.
Mass at the Heart of the Parish
The celebration of the Eucharist is the gravitational center of life at St. Luke. The parish teaches plainly that Mass is not simply a duty but a joyful privilege, the most intimate encounter Catholics can have with Jesus through the reception of his body, blood, soul and divinity. The weekend Mass schedule at St. Luke itself is a Vigil Mass on Saturday at 4:30 p.m., and two Sunday Masses at 9:00 a.m. and 11:00 a.m. Weekday Masses are shared across the Lakewood Catholic Family in a long-standing arrangement between the parishes: Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday at 8:15 a.m. at St. Luke; Thursday at 8:15 a.m. at St. Clement; and Friday at 8:15 a.m. at St. James. A First Saturday Mass is celebrated at St. Luke at 8:15 a.m. and is followed by the Rosary.
The three weekend Masses at St. Luke each have a slightly different character. The 4:30 p.m. Saturday Mass uses traditional music with the organ; the 9:00 a.m. Sunday Mass is served by the parish Adult Choir and follows a more traditional musical style; the 11:00 a.m. Sunday Mass is the most contemporary of the three. Confessions are heard every Saturday from 3:00 to 4:00 p.m., and also by appointment. Communal penance services are offered in the cluster during Advent and Lent.
The parish has no formal dress code. Visitors are encouraged to dress respectfully for a visit with the Lord. The pastor and other clergy look forward to meeting newcomers before and after every weekend Mass.
A Parish Born in a Tent on Lake Avenue
St. Luke the Evangelist came into being on April 18, 1922, when Bishop Joseph Schrembs of the Diocese of Cleveland established eight new parishes in one stroke. St. Luke was carved from the territory of St. Rose and St. James, with boundaries running from Lake Erie on the north to Detroit Avenue on the south, Cove Avenue on the east and Lakeland Avenue on the west. The founding pastor was Father John A. Nolan, formerly pastor of St. Joseph in Cuyahoga Falls, and the original Catholic population drew its roots from St. Patrick, St. Malachi, St. Mary and St. Stephen parishes, with Irish and German families forming the core.
For several months the new community had no church of its own. Father Nolan approached the Sisters of Charity at St. Augustine's Convent on Lake Avenue, and Sister Sebastian consented to the use of a corner of the convent grounds where a vineyard had recently been pulled. A large tent was erected there, and Sunday Masses were celebrated under canvas. Daily Masses, Baptisms and Weddings were held in the Convent Chapel, occasionally in the pastor's own home on Giel Avenue. The first winter was severe enough that the water in the cruet froze during Mass. In the early spring of 1922 a heavy storm ripped the temporary chapel apart, pulling stakes from the ground and tearing holes in the canvas; Father Nolan and his people repaired the tent and resumed Masses the next day. The first Baptism in the new parish was celebrated on May 28, 1922.
On June 6, 1922, Father Nolan signed an offer to purchase a parcel of land on the south side of Clifton Boulevard, bounded on the east by a new street to be called Bunts Road, for $50,000. A contract for a wooden frame church measuring 114 feet by 45 feet followed in August, and the congregation was able to move services into the basement in May 1923. A rectory was added in 1925. An eight-room school was built on Clifton Boulevard and opened in September 1928, staffed by the Ursuline nuns, with the Sisters of Charity taking over the teaching in 1944. The first Confirmation in the new parish was celebrated on September 5, 1928.
Father Nolan was transferred to St. Augustine Parish in January 1924 and died in 1933. His successor, the Rev. James A. Heffernan, oversaw the construction of the rectory and the school. Father Heffernan died in June 1944, and the Rt. Rev. Msgr. James M. McDonough was appointed pastor later that month.
The Church of Matched Marble on the Corner
By the late 1940s the parish had outgrown the frame church, and Monsignor McDonough set out to build a much larger worship space. The design was drawn up by his assistant, Rev. Peter Cherniss, who had studied architecture before entering the priesthood. Cherniss traveled through Ireland, Germany, France and Italy for six weeks gathering materials, including 155 crates of matched marble destined for the altar, walls and aisles. The new church of Modified Romanesque Architecture, seating 750 downstairs and 150 in the choir loft, was completed in August 1951 at a cost of $275,000 and blessed by Bishop Edward Hoban on May 4, 1952.
The old frame church was repurposed for education and then, after thirty-seven years of service, removed to make way for further expansion of the school. In June 1959 a new gymnasium, parish hall and four classrooms were begun between the school and faculty house, and on May 25, 1960, Bishop Fulton J. Sheen came to St. Luke to dedicate the new recreation center and school addition. Sheen was a frequent guest of the parish because of his long friendship with the next pastor, the Rt. Rev. Msgr. Charles McBride, who had reportedly worked with Sheen in his broadcasting in New York. Photos from that day in 1960 still survive in the parish archive.
Sheen went on to become one of the most widely watched religious figures in American life, reaching an estimated 30 million viewers each week on the television series Life is Worth Living and winning an Emmy Award for Most Outstanding Television Personality. A future generation at St. Luke would remember his visits and his friendship with Monsignor McBride.
Father Robert J. Jenkins, who had come to St. Luke as an Associate Pastor in 1968 and served as Acting Pastor during Monsignor McBride's long illness, was named Pastor in October 1972. Under his leadership the church was remodeled to incorporate the liturgical changes of the Second Vatican Council in 1970, a new organ was installed in 1974, the pews were replaced in 1977, and in 1984 the stained-glass windows were completely redone, the sanctuary was repainted, and the wooden altars, baptistry and pulpit were replaced with marble. A new addition on the east side enlarged the priest's sacristy and added rest rooms for parishioners. On July 13, 1984, relics of twenty-nine saints, including St. Peter, St. Paul, St. James the Greater, St. Stephen, St. Lawrence, St. Benedict, St. Anthony of Padua, St. Clare, St. Maria Goretti, St. Francis of Assisi, St. Elizabeth Ann Seton and St. Pius X, were sealed in the new marble altar by Father Jenkins. Bishop A. Edward Pevec solemnly dedicated the altar and church on October 21, 1984.
In 1982 Bishop Anthony M. Pilla formally redefined the parish boundaries, and in the late 1980s a partnership emerged with St. Clement and St. James parishes to share athletic programs, community reconciliation services and music events. The 1990s brought new pastoral leadership under Rev. Francis P. Walsh in 1992, the arrival of Sister Miriam Erb, CSA, as pastoral minister to the sick, elderly and bereaved, and the 75th anniversary of the parish in 1997, which was opened by Bishop A. James Quinn on April 20 and closed by Bishop Pilla on September 21. In 2000 Bishop Pilla dedicated a new shrine in the church in memory of Archbishop Oscar Romero and the four El Salvador missionaries martyred on December 2, 1980, including Jean Donovan, who had been a St. Luke parishioner, and Sister Dorothy Kazel, a Cleveland Ursuline sister.
Seventeen Stained-Glass Windows and the Martyrs' Shrine
St. Luke Church is graced with seventeen major stained-glass windows, designed principally by Father Cherniss, who reportedly made a several months tour of Europe to acquire the finish materials for the new church. Twelve tall windows, six on each side, depict the Twelve Apostles, with St. Paul substituted for Judas Iscariot. Above the side doors at the front of the church are two of the four Evangelists: St. Luke to the east and St. Mark to the west. St. Luke, St. Peter, St. John and St. James are placed on the east side of the church because they receive the most direct morning light, a position befitting the patron and the three Apostles present at many of the most significant Gospel events.
In the choir loft the window to the west depicts St. Matthias, elected to fill the place of Judas among the Twelve, and across from him on the east side is St. John Vianney, the nineteenth-century Curé d'Ars and patron saint of parish priests. The largest window in the church is the grand rose window facing north, its image and sign centered on the ancient symbol of Christ as a pelican feeding its young with its own blood, a traditional image of Christ's sacrifice of his Body and Blood for the salvation of the world. The petals of the window are stylized lilies, a symbol of purity associated with Easter. A depiction of the Eucharist in the sacristy facing east catches the morning light especially brilliantly.
The windows bear their own language. St. Peter's window shows the keys of the Kingdom and the rooster that crowed at his denial. St. John's window, the Evangelist whose symbol is the eagle, displays the Blessed Sacrament in Body and Blood at the top and the Lamb of God at the bottom. St. James the Less is shown with three stones above, recalling his martyrdom by stoning, and a medieval windmill, which by heraldic tradition refers to the fuller's clubs used to beat him to death. St. Thomas, who preached the Gospel to India, is depicted with construction tools because tradition names him the patron of architects and stonemasons. St. Andrew appears with the X-shaped cross on which he was crucified. St. Bartholomew is shown with the knives of his martyrdom by flaying, and St. James the Greater carries the staff and pilgrim's bag of the Camino de Compostela, with three cockle shells above.
The parish is currently raising funds for the restoration and preservation of these windows as part of its centennial legacy. As of recent updates, pledges and payments had reached nearly half of the total project goal.
Jean Donovan and the Four Churchwomen of El Salvador
The shrine dedicated by Bishop Pilla in 2000 inside St. Luke Church tells a story that is central to the parish identity. On March 24, 1980, Archbishop Oscar Romero of San Salvador was shot through the heart by a gunman while celebrating Mass in the Chapel of the Hospital de la Divina Providencia. On December 2, 1980, Sister Dorothy Kazel, an Ursuline Sister of Cleveland, Sister Ita Ford, a Maryknoll sister from New York, Sister Maura Clarke, a Maryknoll sister also from New York, and Jean Donovan, a young lay missionary from St. Luke, were kidnapped by government-backed forces on their way back from the airport, taken into the country, assaulted and killed.
Jean Donovan had come to Cleveland to earn a master's degree at Case Western Reserve University, had lived in the parish of St. Luke while working at a prominent accounting firm, and had volunteered for the diocesan Youth Ministry Office before joining the Cleveland Mission Team in El Salvador in 1978. There she met Sister Dorothy. Her letters home remain part of the parish's witness. In one she wrote: "I love life and I love living. While I feel compassion and cry for the people here, I am not up for suicide. Several times, I decided to leave. I almost could, except for the children - the poor bruised victims of this adult lunacy. Who would care for them? Whose heart could be so staunch as to favor the reasonable thing in a sea of their tears and loneliness? Not mine, dear friend, not mine." Sister Dorothy's letters are recorded as well. She wrote that she and her companions had decided that they would stay, even if violence began, because they did not want to run out on the people.
Cardinal Seán O'Malley, in his homily at St. Luke's centennial Mass on May 22, 2022, underscored the connection between the parish and the martyrs. He had known Archbishop Romero as a close friend and had met the four churchwomen through his work with the Salvadoran community in Washington, D.C. He told the parish: "Here at St. Luke, we have great devotion to the Twentieth Century martyrs of El Salvador. I see the shrine we have installed here...their lives in service of the Gospel are an inspiration to us all. And we pray for their intercession for this faith family that we will carry out that mandate to 'Go and make disciples.'"
The El Salvador Ministry at St. Luke keeps the connection alive today. The parish partners with the Diocese of Cleveland Mission Office and Saint Dominic Church's El Salvador effort and supports a sister school in the community of Chiltiupan, La Libertad. Each year the ministry raises funds through a Back to School drive and organizes mission trips for parishioners. The shrine text inside the church includes a quote from Romero that has become a kind of motto for the parish's outreach: "We cannot do everything, and there is a sense of liberation in realizing that. This enables us to do something, and to do it very well. It may be incomplete, but it is a beginning, a step along the way, an opportunity for the Lord's grace to enter and do the rest."
Faith Formation Across the Parish Family
Religious education at St. Luke is built as a collaboration among the three parishes of the Lakewood Catholic Family. The Parish School of Religion (PSR) serves roughly 150 students each year and offers three models. The Traditional Classroom Model meets on Monday evenings from 6:30 to 7:30 p.m. throughout the academic year on the second floor of the old school building at St. Luke, using the Spirit of Truth series. The Family Model is primarily home-based, centered on the Pflaum Gospel Weeklies series and led through St. Clement Parish. The Catechesis of the Good Shepherd model meets on Monday and Wednesday evenings at St. James Parish Center in the Atrium, drawing on Montessori principles and limited in size. Tuition for the program is $80 for one child, $95 for two and $110 for three or more, with a $20 discount available during the first week of class. Financial aid is available through the Parish Catechetical Leader, Max Hall.
Children in second grade and older prepare for the sacraments of First Reconciliation and First Holy Communion through a collaborative program among St. Luke, St. Clement and St. James parishes, coordinated through the Director of Faith Formation, Colleen Houk. Confirmation preparation begins in seventh grade and continues through the eighth grade year, concluding with the reception of the sacrament in eighth grade. The program includes Life Night meetings once a semester, a Works of Mercy service component, a short spiritual reflection, a Confirmation retreat, and a sponsor relationship. The next Confirmation Mass is scheduled at St. Luke. Tuition and a $20 early discount follow the same structure as PSR.
Sunday School at St. Luke is for children ages 3 through first grade and gathers during the 9:00 a.m. Mass in the Community Room in the basement of the school. Children share prayer, Scripture, stories, songs and crafts, and journey through the birth of Jesus, his sacrifice and his undying love. The lesson programs used have been found by the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops to be in conformity with the Catechism of the Catholic Church. Parents interested in registering should contact Carol Ormsby.
For adults seeking to become Catholic, or baptized Catholics who have not received First Eucharist or Confirmation, the parish offers OCIA (formerly RCIA), the Order of Christian Initiation of Adults. Sessions take place on Wednesday evenings and follow the five traditional stages from Inquiry through Mystagogy, with the Sacraments of Initiation received at the Easter Vigil. The program is led by Max Hall with the assistance of Deacon Tom Bizon. A recent OCIA Information Session drew newcomers who wanted to explore the Catholic faith without pressure or obligation.
Sacramental preparation begins at Baptism, which the parish joyfully welcomes for infants whose parents are registered and who have attended a preparation class. Confirmation is offered to students in the eighth grade or older through the parish's preparation program. Reconciliation is offered every Saturday from 3:00 to 4:00 p.m. and by appointment, and communally during Advent and Lent. Marriage preparation should begin at least a year in advance of the wedding date, and couples are asked not to set a date or reserve a reception hall until they have met with the pastor. Anointing of the Sick is available for anyone facing illness, surgery or the weakness of old age; the parish office can be called for emergencies at any time.
Music that Prays Twice
The Music Ministry at St. Luke takes seriously the saying attributed to St. Augustine that singing is praying twice. The Adult Choir is the regular performing ensemble for the 9:00 a.m. Sunday Mass, singing repertoire that ranges from traditional classical music and Gregorian chant to contemporary Catholic hymns. No prior training or experience is required, only a love of singing and a willingness to share the gift. The choir rehearses on Wednesday evenings at 7:00 p.m. in the church and gathers at 8:30 a.m. on Sundays before the 9:00 Mass. Cantors for all Masses are typically drawn from the ensemble, and the choir performs at all the major Solemnities of the Church year. The Wind Ensemble provides regular instrumental music at the 9:00 a.m. Sunday Mass and at Solemnities throughout the year, with Saturday afternoon rehearsals. Both ensembles are led by Music Director Lawrence Wallace.
The Quilters, the Bereaved and Other Hands of Mercy
Some of the most quietly powerful ministries at St. Luke are also among the oldest. The Quilt Ministry began in 2000 when Dawn Snell, a cancer survivor, joined with Tina Hlavaty of the Journey of Hope "I Am Not Alone" program to sew lap quilts for patients undergoing chemotherapy. The original group of eleven women worked in Linda Beller's home, then moved to the convent on the parish grounds, and after the convent closed relocated to the second floor of the school building where they now meet in room 208 on the first Saturday of each month. They range in age from ten to ninety-two and have produced close to 3,000 quilts since the ministry began. Each quilt bears a label reading "Care Quilt, 'I Am Not Alone' sm Programs, Handmade by Quilters at St. Luke Church, Lakewood." The quilts are blessed before being distributed by Jim and Tina Hlavaty to children with cancer at Rainbow Babies and Children's Hospital and to patients at Metro General Hospital. The annual cost of batting and flannel to keep the ministry going is roughly $1,000 to $1,100, supported in part by an annual gift from the parish and from the quilters' own pockets.
The Bereavement Ministry accompanies those who are grieving the loss of a loved one. Pat Dutko and Mary Sue McGorray lead the ministry, offering a listening presence, a connection to educational resources and a small library of downloadable materials on grief. A Memorial Garden was dedicated on the northwest corner of the church on August 15, 2020, in memory of those who died during the pandemic of 2020 and 2021. It includes a stone bench, patio stones and a weeping redbud tree, and has become a place to pray and remember loved ones. The ministry maintains connections with Cornerstone of Hope in Cleveland and St. Augustine Ministries' Holy Family Hospice grief and spiritual support.
The Homebound Ministry sends trained Eucharistic Ministers to bring Holy Communion to parishioners who are sick or unable to attend Mass, whether in their own homes, in hospitals, or in nursing and independent living communities. The parish also maintains a small fleet of Westerly Drivers who help residents of the Westerly Apartments, an elder living community in Lakewood, get to and from Sunday Mass.
The St. Monica Prayer Ministry gathers the prayer intentions of the parish and lifts them up together, offering a quiet witness to the communion of saints. Prayer requests can be submitted through the parish and are held in prayer by the ministry.
For men, the King's Men Men's Ministry, a ministry shared by St. Luke, St. Clement and St. James, gathers on Tuesday evenings at 7:00 p.m. in the Seton Room on the second floor of the old school building. Under the sign of Christ the King, the men pledge to build one another up in the mold of leader, protector and provider through education, formation, healing and action. The Knights of Columbus Lakewood Council 2643, which serves Transfiguration, St. Luke, St. James and St. Clement parishes, offers fraternal brotherhood, faith and charitable activities for Catholic men eighteen and older.
For women, Walking with Purpose, a Catholic women's Bible study, meets in small groups on Thursday evenings from 7:30 to 9:00 p.m. Recent studies have included Reclaiming Friendship: God's Plan for Deep Connection, broken into six lessons over ten weeks. The parish also offers Monthly Playdates in McBride Hall, an opportunity for families with young children to meet one another, play and fellowship on Sunday afternoons.
The Welcoming Ministry works to make sure newcomers sense that they are known and wanted at St. Luke. The Welcome Committee is led by Patricia Dutko, Amy Gurbach and Sarah Blesi, and the Welcoming Roster is the first point of contact for many visitors who find their way to the parish through the doors on Bunts Road.
Grapevine, the parish's Catholic young adult community, gathers on Thursdays for intellectual discussion and social life and on Fridays for Eucharistic adoration. The community is open to young adults at every stage of their faith journey and welcomes newcomers into the life of the parish.
The St. Luke Social Club offers fellowship for adults of all ages and hosts gatherings such as Donut Sunday in McBride Hall after the 9:00 a.m. Mass and the parish Music Ministry Banquet.
Walking with Moms and Other Works of Mercy
Social Action at St. Luke is guided by the Gospel, especially the words of Matthew 25 - "Amen, I say to you, whatsoever you did for one of these least brothers of mine, you did for me" - and by the principles of Catholic Social Teaching. The ministry sponsors at least two collection drives a year, supports organizations such as the Northeast Ohio Coalition for the Homeless, the Centers, St. Herman's and Community Meals, and organizes events such as Teatime for Peace, the Refugee Simulator, the annual International and Fair Trade Fair, and the SocksPlus Drive, which last year collected more than 900 pairs of socks for the homeless. The ministry meets at the St. Luke Rectory on the last Monday of the month at 6:30 p.m. and welcomes new members.
Walking with Moms in Need, a diocesan-wide initiative supported by St. Luke, builds a network of caring neighbors equipped to walk with pregnant and parenting mothers in the parish and the wider community. The parish points its members to a wide range of local resources: ProLove Ministries for individualized support; the Cleveland Pregnancy Center for baby supplies, life coaching, life skills classes, post-abortive support and fatherhood counseling; Veranova Health and Family Medicine for prenatal care and natural family planning; Womankind for free support services for uninsured mothers; and Birthright for counseling on prenatal care, jobs, housing and childcare.
Other local partnerships include Catholic Charities for refugee mentorship and the Uniting for Ukraine program, St. Colman's Refugee Resource Center for diapers, hygiene supplies and household items, Sleep in Heavenly Peace for beds built for children in need, I'm in Ministry for furniture and household item donations for new apartments, Socks+ for ongoing collections of socks and winter gear for the homeless, Zelie's Home for shelter and support for homeless pregnant mothers, and several other agencies serving the broader Cleveland community. The parish also participates in the Lakewood Christian Service Center and the Interfaith Hospitality Network, a coalition of more than thirty Cleveland congregations providing meals, shelter and support to homeless families.
Parish Staff, Stewardship and Giving
St. Luke is pastored by Father Cameron Popik as Administrator, with Father Scott Swinerton serving as Parochial Vicar. Deacon Tom Bizon serves the parish, along with St. Clement and St. James, and Deacon John Henderson, now retired, continues to assist. Max Hall serves as Parish Catechetical Leader and Pastoral Associate, the central staff contact for faith formation, sacramental preparation, the homebound ministry and many of the parish's outreach efforts. Lawrence Wallace serves as Music Director. The parish also benefits from the service of a Parish Pastoral Council led by President Matt Devitt, and a Finance Council led by President Tom Gurbach, with Treasurer Peter Srsen and Secretary Tim Ryan.
Parish Office Hours are Monday through Thursday from 8:30 a.m. to 7:30 p.m. and Friday from 8:30 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. For a sacramental emergency outside of office hours, the parish office can be reached at 216-521-0184. The parish asks that anyone seeking a priest for a sacramental emergency call the office number.
Online giving is available through ParishSOFT Managed Giving, and all existing recurring gifts and donation history have transferred automatically from the previous platform. The Stewardship Prayer of the parish gathers the spirit of the parish's work: "My church is composed of people like me. I help make it what it is. It will be friendly, if I am. It will be holy, if I am. Its pews will be filled, if I help fill them." Time, talent and treasure are the parish's three T's, rooted in identity, trust, gratitude and love.
From the matched marble of the 1950s sanctuary to the relics sealed in the 1984 altar, from the rows of stained-glass saints on either side of the nave to the quiet memorial garden on the northwest corner of the church, from the quilts blessed on the first Saturday of each month to the prayers lifted up by the St. Monica Prayer Ministry, St. Luke the Evangelist Parish continues its second century as a community centered on the Eucharist and attentive to the mercy of God in the life of its people, its city and its world.