On July 1, the Catholic Community of Eight in Racine will become St. Leo the Great Parish. Archbishop Jeffrey S. Grob chose the name from the top three options submitted for the parish.
The merger of eight parishes will take forming the second-largest Catholic community in the Milwaukee archdiocese after Holy Family, Fond du Lac. The community covers the city of Racine and Sturtevant, and membership among the parishes totals 13,767 members: Sacred Heart, 1,104; St. Edward, 596; St. Richard, 1,026; St. Patrick, 5,765; St. John Nepomuk, 206; St. Joseph, 1,397; St. Lucy, 3,117; and St. Sebastian, 556.
In celebration of the new name, Fr. Juan Camacho, Pastor of the soon-to-be St. Leo the Great Parish, will be hosting a festival at the festival grounds in Racine from June 26-28, the weekend before the merger.
“Archbishop Grob will celebrate the Mass on Sunday, June 28,” he said. “We are calling the festival ‘Saints on the Lake.’ This is a great opportunity to celebrate. The festival provides an excellent chance for us to bring people from the eight churches together to share their uniqueness with the larger community. We will offer a diverse range of foods that reflect the ethnicities of our parishes. We want to emphasize our unity in our diversity. We are the Body of Christ — one body, many parts.”
When the eight Racine and Sturtevant parishes began collaborating, Fr. Camacho said they understood the need to establish the right administrative body and institution to support their vibrancy.
“Now that St. Leo the Great is established, it provides us with the glue to continue growing and implementing the vision to engage our community, learn about the Lord, and grow in our spiritual journey together, to live as disciples of Christ who invite others to become disciples,” he said.
As one can imagine, juggling eight parishes with one priest is the most challenging aspect of the merger. Thankfully, Fr. Camacho takes it all in stride and enjoys rotating through all the Masses and being present with all his parishioners.
“People appreciate the rotation because they get to experience all the priests serving in the community. This is a benefit for them,” he explained. “The insights from different homilies nourish their souls. Of course, scheduling the Masses can be intense, but I enjoy being in different parishes every weekend. Some weekends, I get to celebrate Mass in three or four different parishes.”
Supporting Fr. Camacho in ministry are three associate priests: Fr. Michael Peterson, Fr. Craig Richter and Fr. Timothy Sanchez. Dcn. Ed Benvenga also plays a vital role, focusing on hospital and homebound ministries, ensuring that parishioners in need receive compassionate care and spiritual support.
While it might be difficult for parishioners to feel a connection to their pastor when he manages so many locations, Fr. Camacho is very intentional about remaining present to his flock. One way is through social media.
“On Mondays, we post our spiritual homework for the week, which relates to the key point from my homily the previous weekend. I record it every Sunday, and we post it on Mondays. Then, every Wednesday, we share a video teaching on Church teachings. We have covered the parts of the Mass, the sacraments and sacramentals, and we are working through the liturgical vestments,” he explained. “On Fridays, we send out a newsletter to parishioners sharing our upcoming events and a message from me, as their pastor. Once a month, I host a live chat on Facebook to answer questions and share updates with anyone who connects to discuss our parishes. This social media presence has helped strengthen my connection with parishioners and reduce their fears. They see their pastor on social media and read their messages in bulletins and newsletters. Of course, this requires intentionality and commitment.”
Additionally, the parish offers several events to promote community and connection with parishioners and priests, such as game nights, bingo nights, fun nights and Mardi Gras parties.
“We also hold Mass and adoration to bring people together. We call it ‘Food for the Journey,’ and we rotate the event among different churches to encourage participation and foster community,” said Fr. Camacho. “The night begins with Mass, followed by Holy Hour with meditations and a social afterward. It’s a great community builder centered around the Lord.”
While the new parish will be called St. Leo the Great, the names of the individual churches will remain the same. For events, such as a fish fry, it might be called “St. Leo the Great Fish Fry at Sacred Heart Church,” or “St. Leo the Great men’s group meets at St. Lucy Church every Saturday.”
“We will have one website, one Facebook page, one YouTube channel, and one Instagram account to communicate with our parishioners — all called St. Leo the Great,” said Fr. Camacho. “We are one parish.”
Fr. Nieto to Lead St. Leo the Great
A former shared associate pastor of many Racine parishes will become the pastor of the city’s new parish of St. Leo the Great this summer.
Fr. José Mario Nieto, now pastor of St. Mark, Kenosha, has been involved in the parishes’ collaboration process in Racine since 2021, said Fr. Juan Manuel Camacho, pastor of the eight parishes that now make up the Catholic Community of Eight in Racine, in a recent newsletter.
Fr. Camacho’s new assignment will be vicar general for the archdiocese.
Before his present assignment at St. Mark, Fr. Nieto served as an associate pastor for many of the eight parishes that will merge July 1 to become St. Leo.
“He understands the process, the community and the staff. I believe this is a great advantage for him as the pastor of this collaborative group of parishes, as we start a new chapter as St. Leo the Great Parish this summer,” Fr. Camacho said.
Ordained in 2014, Fr. Nieto has been pastor of St. Mark, Kenosha, since last June. Like Fr. Camacho, he also is a member of the Racine-based Community of St. Paul.
