St. Leo Parish was recently presented with the Beautification Award from the City of Murray for the month of September. Pictured are St. Leo’s pastor, Fr. Joshua McCarty, and Murray City Council member, Alice Rouse. COURTESY OF CINDY CHRISMAN

BY SHAWN TOUNEY, SPECIAL TO THE WESTERN KENTUCKY CATHOLIC

St. Leo Parish in Murray was recently presented with the Beautification Award from the City of Murray for the month of September.

The parish, particularly its striking bell tower and well-maintained landscaping on the parish grounds, is highly visible along 12th Street (U.S. 641), the main north/south thoroughfare through Murray. St. Leo is the only Catholic church in Calloway County.

“St. Leo Church, built by the Catholic community and John Clark Construction Co. Inc., is an icon of Murray as people drive into town,” said Fr. Joshua McCarty, St. Leo’s pastor. “The parish offers a beautiful sacred space for the church to welcome new members through baptism and to say farewell to others at the funeral Mass, and supports everyone else in between. We are especially appreciative of the work of John Krieb, Chris Clark, Rob Stanfa at Rolling Hills Nursery, and the numerous other people who offer a hand.”

The parish’s history in Murray dates back to 1933 with the establishment of a Civilian Conservation Camp in Murray. Before the existence of this camp, Catholics in the area had to go to Mass in Fancy Farm or Mayfield in Graves County. When the camp pavilion’s roof was destroyed sometime after 1937, the congregation was invited to the home of Harry Fenton at 602 Olive St. in Murray where Sunday Mass was held for the next two and a half years. As the size of the Catholic congregation grew, due in part to a Navy program at Murray State Teachers College during World War II, it outgrew the Fenton home and Mass was moved onto the Murray State campus. John Resig is the oldest living member of St. Leo’s and he came to Murray through the Navy program; while in Murray he met and later married Fenton’s daughter Claire. They lived in Murray ever since the War ended. 

Fenton and other church leaders were involved in the purchase of land fronted by a dirt road which later became 12th Street. The first Catholic church building in Murray was built there and dedicated in the fall of 1943. That building served the church until 1963 when the current church building was constructed just north of the first church and it served about 80 families.

As the number of parishioners continued to increase in the decades that followed, by 2004 momentum had grown to explore future parish needs and growth expectations. This needs assessment was initiated by Fr. Mike Williams and directed by John Mitchell, a parish leader at the time. During the initial steps, a feasibility study led by the parish’s fundraising consultant indicated that, due to the small number of large gifts expected, it was likely that the parish would only be able to raise between $650,000 and $750,000, well short of the anticipated project cost. The daunting task of raising funds among the parishioners did not faze the parish, however, as parish leadership often referred to the phrase of “through equal sacrifice of all members” in order to guide the various steps associated with helping fund the project. John Mitchell was instrumental in forming and leading the fundraising programs and guiding various parish committees involved in the design and construction of the new larger church. The parish set an initial goal of one million dollars, and through the generosity of parishioners and the Lord’s work, $957,000 was raised in pledges!  A second campaign was initiated to fund the completion of this massive project which eventually totaled around two million dollars. Fr. Jason McClure oversaw the actual construction during his tenure as Fr. Williams was reassigned before construction began. A new rectory house was purchased on a nearby street as the old rectory was attached to the church but would need to be demolished to make room for the expanded new church. In the summer of 2010 a groundbreaking ceremony took place for the construction of a new building, with the project led by John Clark Construction Co. Inc., a family-owned company who have been parishioners of St. Leo for many years; Fr. Mike Clark (pastor of Blessed Mother Parish in Owensboro) is a member of this family. The new church was dedicated in July 2011 with much fanfare and is a larger structure that offers expanded seating, a large gathering space, a Blessed Sacrament chapel, and a daily chapel, as well as other improvements from the 1963 structure. Through the efforts of the congregation to continue financial support, all of the building loans were paid off ahead of schedule!

Now, more than one decade later, with the original 1943 church building serving as the parish office, St. Leo continues to thrive with more than 800 parishioners currently, along with an active Newman House Catholic Campus Ministry through Murray State University. As of this fall, roughly 100 students are involved through Newman House, which is supported by students from the Fellowship of Catholic University Students, also known as FOCUS.

Shawn Touney belongs to St. Leo Parish in Murray.

Originally printed in the November 2021 issue of The Western Kentucky Catholic.