Deacon John Micciche says the ability of parishioners and clergy to adapt to shifting cultures has allowed St. Clement Mary Hofbauer Church to survive and thrive in the community of Rosedale for 100 years.
Founded in 1925 as a mission parish by the Redemptorist order to serve a growing population of German farming immigrants, the parish has endured a number of shifts in population – none greater than in the past two decades.
As it celebrates a century of serving eastern Baltimore County, the church is undergoing yet another transformation.
In 2020, it became part of the MAC Pastorate, joining with St. Michael the Archangel in Overlea and Church of the Annunciation in Rosedale. However, Church of the Annunciation recently closed for regular weekly liturgies, with St. Michael (the seated parish) and St. Clement remaining as worship sites through the Archdiocese of Baltimore’s Seek the City to Come initiative.
“It’s the environment of joyful evangelization that has allowed St. Clement to grow and evolve,” said Deacon Micciche, a parishioner of St. Clement since 1994 and a graduate of Holy Rosary Elementary School and Archbishop Curley High School. “The parish has continued to provide dynamic services to meet the needs of the community no matter how that community has changed.”
The parish school, which merged with St. Michael in 2017, dates back to 1932 when the Franciscan Sisters of Philadelphia founded it.
Deacon Micciche praised the leadership and energetic spirit of Father Hector Mateus-Ariza, pastor, for the parish’s latest transformation.
“A lot of the credit goes to Father Hector,” he said. “He is a model in so many ways. He has a way of bringing people together. His enthusiasm is contagious.”
Father Mateus-Ariza says the enthusiasm from St. Clement’s congregation energizes him.
“When I’m there, I have more energy,” the pastor said. “It’s a diverse community and the way the people participate in the liturgy and the music, you feel the enthusiasm.
“This parish has been through a lot. It was scheduled to close in the first Seek the City draft, but even then, the people never lost their enthusiasm and seemed to say ‘whatever happens we will remain united.’ At St. Clement you truly feel the joy, joy, joy,” he said.
St. Clement currently hosts Saturday (4 p.m.) and Sunday (9 a.m. and noon) liturgies as well as daily Mass (9 a.m.) Tuesday, Wednesday and Friday.
It has a congregation that includes large contingents of Nigerians, Filipinos and Hispanics.
Deacon Micciche said among the church’s vital ministries are hosting weekly Alcoholics Anonymous and Narcotic Anonymous meetings as well as its community food pantry.
A dynamic music program, led by Chris Henry, features a keyboard Mass (organ or piano) and a contemporary music Mass.
“We like to think we meet our parishioners’ needs with joyful and vibrant liturgies,” Deacon Micciche said.
Chris Kline and her husband, Ken, have known that vibrancy during two separate stints as parishioners, once in the 1980s when they sent their children to the parish school and again for the past decade after a brief period at another parish.
Chris Kline is a member of the parish council and chairperson of the anniversary committee.
“This is a small faith community,” she said of St. Clement. “But it’s a very tight-knit community. Many of the parishioners have been here their entire lives, and hold onto their traditions. It’s also a very welcoming community, and one that has become a lot more diverse. That’s what drew us back.”
She said the parish is again thriving after some “difficult years,” which she said were exacerbated by the coronavirus pandemic. Kline said she has noticed an uptick in attendance after the Seek the City changes.
“People are looking for new homes,” she said. “And I think they’ve been drawn by St. Clement’s spirit of inclusion.”
She said the anniversary celebration couldn’t have come at a better time to “show the public that we’ve been here a long time, but we aren’t old and stale.”
During the ongoing 100th anniversary celebration, the anniversary committee has planned at least one major event for each month. The church hosted a reunion Mass April 27 with a wine-and-cheese social that included appearances by former clergy, faculty and staff.
The anniversary committee is reviving the St. Clement Carnival June 18-22 and will host ice cream socials July 12 and 13 as well as Halloween-themed bingo Oct. 18. A parish picnic is in the planning stages for Aug. 15. The 100th anniversary festivities will conclude Nov. 23 with a Mass celebrated by Archbishop William E. Lori and a banquet at Rosedale Gardens.
The anniversary committee is also soliciting input and help to compile stories, photos and memorabilia about the St. Clement.
Email Gerry Jackson at gjackson@CatholicReview.org
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