The Legion of Mary promotes devotion to the Blessed Mother and the Rosary and performs apostolic work. Active members (men and women) meet weekly on Mondays at 6:30 pm in the Sacred Heart Room of the parish office for prayer and to share experiences in the apostolate. Work includes home visitations, hospital, hospice and nursing home visitation, jail ministry, outreach to non-practicing Catholics, and promotion of Enthronement to the Sacred Heart. Auxiliary members support the work of the Legion by their daily prayer. Contact the parish office if you would like to join the Legion of Mary or become an auxiliary member (216.731.1515).

This is the 70^th annual report to the Northeast Ohio Curia from the Our Lady of Fatima Praesidium at Sts. Robert & William Parish in Euclid, Ohio and covers the time period of October 27, 2015 through October 31, 2016. We have 16 active legionaries comprising the Praesidium that are supremely dedicated to The Blessed Virgin Mary, continually seeking greater holiness to the Glory of God, and committed to advancing the Reign of Our Lord Jesus Christ. The Praesidium is pleased to be joined for 6 months a year by an active legionary from “Our Lady, Seat of Wisdom” Praesidium in Naples, Florida. We are also blessed to have 83 Auxiliary Members. 

The members of the Our Lady of Fatima Praesidium are sisters Carol Bischof – Vice President, Ana Danoso, Kathy Kobetisch, Mary LeQuyea – Treasurer, Ann Perna, Sheila Reese, Marie Sims, Kathleen Smyth, Betty Szalay, Mary Ann Thompson – Secretary, Gerri Witherite and Noni Wolenski, and brothers Scott Metsch, John Noall – President, Frank Sliwa, and Mike Sweet. Brother Bill Bradt is the visiting legionary from Florida.  

Our Pastor, Fr. John Betters, and our Parochial Vicar, Fr. Thom Kowatch, are the Spiritual Directors and alternate weeks attending the meetings and addressing the legionaries with an allocutio. We are blessed to have them both serve our Praesidium in this capacity.

The meetings of the Praesidium are held on Monday evenings at 6:30^pm in the Sacred Heart Room at the Parish Rectory. We held 43 meetings and legionary attendance averages 75%.

SERVING THE PARISH

Apart from the assigned work our Praesidium performs, our legionaries actively   serve SRW Parish in many ways.  Several of our legionaries serve the parish ministerially as Lectors on 80 occasions, as Extraordinary Ministers of Holy Communion on 256 occasions, as Choir Members on 194 occasions, and as Funeral Greeters on 24 occasions. Seven of our legionaries total over 400 scheduled hours in our 24/7 Eucharistic Adoration Chapel and all our legionaries worship and pray to Jesus in His Eucharistic Presence. One of our legionaries volunteers 43 hours to assist the PSR classes. Legionaries serve the Parish in cleaning the church for 18 hours, assisting at the community meal for 55 hours, and in distributing produce to Euclid residents during the summer months for 24 hours. Three of our legionaries participate monthly in the Healing Ministry and prayed 50 hours with those needing healing.  One of our legionaries volunteered 38 hours at the Parish rummage sale. Seven of our legionaries volunteered 137 hours at the Parish Festival in August.

SERVING OTHER MINISTRIES

Apart from the assigned work our Praesidium performs, several of our legionaries are active volunteers in other ministries and missions. One of our legionaries volunteered 40 hours at The Rosemary Center assisting special needs children. Three of our legionaries volunteered hours at St. Al’s, St. Philomena’s and the Euclid Hunger Center totaling 410 hours. Three of our legionaries are active members of Families in Christ Jesus. Two of our legionaries volunteer as leaders of the 40 DFL ministry and several of our legionaries participate in 40 Days for Life praying and ministering 150 hours in front of abortion facilities.

WORK ASSIGNMENTS

Our Lady of Fatima Praesidium was represented by 10 active and 12 auxiliary members at the Acies on March 13^th. All 15 active members attended the Summer Function and Retreat at Our Lady of Lourdes Shrine on August 9^th and 10^th.

The Praesidium actively seeks new members. Our meeting day and time and our daily Rosary Schedule is published weekly in the parish bulletin. Our Pastor Fr. John Betters has the Legion information posted on the parish website and wrote about the Legion of Mary and the work our Praesidium performs in his blog. The Praesidium celebrated a Mass for deceased members of the Legion which 8 Legionaries attended.

The Praesidium facilitated the Marian Stations of the Cross on the third Friday of Lent, February 26, reading the reflection for each station and serving as the Cross Bearer and Candle Bearers. Nine legionaries attended totaling 10 hours work with 50 contacts.

The Praesidium provided Rosaries and roses to the 35 First Holy Communicants of SRW on May 2^nd. Five legionaries prepared and distributed the roses after Mass totaling 10 hours work with 70 contacts.

The Praesidium facilitated a May Crowning on Sunday, May 1^st, in which 14 active and 7 auxiliary members participated totaling 25 hours work and 50 contacts.

The weekly work assignments of Our Lady of Fatima Praesidium occur primarily at the Euclid Hospital, Sts. Robert & William Parish, Gateway Health Complex and Hilltop Retirement Community. 

EUCLID HOSPITAL WORK - We visited patients at Euclid Hospital on 54 occasions and had 746 contacts totaling 173 hours of work.

SAINTS ROBERT & WILLIAM PARISH WORK – We made 53 visits to homebound parishioners and had 128 contacts totaling 178 hours of work. We contacted all of our Auxiliary Members totaling 12 hours of work. We presented gift bags with our congratulations to the parents of 38 newly baptized children with 197 contacts  totaling 16 hours of work. At the request of our Pastor, the Praesidium leads a daily Rosary in the Church and we had 2006 contacts totaling 300 hours of work. The Praesidium prayed the Rosary during the visitation of 7 deceased Auxiliary Legion members, 13 active members participated, we had 175 contacts totaling 40 hours of work.

GATEWAY HEALTH COMPLEX WORK - We are scheduled at the Gateway Family House on every Monday, Wednesday, and Saturday at 10:00^am and on the 2^nd Sunday of the month at 9:30^am. We are scheduled at the Gateway Nursing Home every Wednesday at 9:45^am and every Sunday at 10:15^am. The staff at Gateway assists in coordinating the residents when and where our visits occur. We visited with the residents of the Gateway Family House on 156 occasions, praying the Rosary with them, distributing literature and prayer cards, reading scripture, with 1793 contacts totaling 277 hours of work. We also visited with the residents of the Gateway Family House on 12 Sundays for a Communion Service, ministered 133 Holy Communions, praying the Rosary, playing religious songs on a CD player, with 172 contacts totaling 49 hours of work. We visited the residents of the Gateway Nursing Home on 52 Wednesdays, praying the Rosary with them, playing religious songs on a CD player, with 1113 contacts totaling 215 hours of work. We also visited with the residents of the Gateway Nursing Home on 49 Sundays for a Communion Service, ministered 734 Holy Communions, with 1119 contacts totaling 92 hours of work. One of our legionaries daughter teaches at St. Francis and her 3^rd grade class made and brought Christmas cards to the Gateway Nursing Home residents and sang Christmas carols during our visit on Dec. 19. 

HILLTOP RETIREMENT COMMUNITY WORK - We visited the Hilltop residents on 52 occasions, prayed the Rosary and ministered 403 Holy Communions, with 517 contacts totaling 107 hours of work. 

OTHER ASSIGNMENTS - Four legionaries gifted residents at Gateway, Hilltop and the Slovenian Home on Christmas and Palm Sunday with poinsettas and tulip plants provided by our parish to 85 contacts totaling 19 hours of work. We held an Ash Wednesday Communion Service at Gateway Nursing Home with 30 contacts, 15 Holy Communions ministered totaling 4 hours work. We presented 45 prayer shawls to homebound and nursing home parishioners totaling 24 hours of work. Twelve legionaries participated during 14 Masses that our priests celebrated at Gateway and Hilltop with 173 contacts totaling 29 hours of work. The preparation of the Baptism and Hospital Gift Bags totaled 79 hours of work. In the last year our Praesidium has been blessed to assist in the formation of a new Praesidium, Our Lady of Perpetual Help, at Gesu Church, and we totaled 56 hours in Extension of the Legion work.

SUMMARY

In summation of our work, the legionaries of Our Lady of Fatima Praesidium performed 1715 hours of work with 8354 contacts. We distributed 622 prayer cards, 1025 parish bulletins, 385 prayer leaflets, 194 Rosaries, 181 Rosary Guides, 207 Miraculous Medals, 176 Sacred Heart Badges, 157 1B1B Booklets, 87 SRW calendars, 42 Palm Crosses, 39 SRW magnets, 37 Crucifixes, 38 bottles of Holy Water, 45 prayer shawls, 43 Christmas cards, 42 Easter cards, 41 Liturgy Missals, 16 Divine Mercy Chaplet novena brochures, and 17 Tesseras in performance of our work. We ministered a total of 1675 Holy Communions during Services at Gateway, Hilltop, Euclid Hospital, and to the homebound.

We are humbled and thankful for the blessings and grace bestowed upon us and the work of our Praesidium from our Heavenly Father through Our Lord Jesus in Their Holy Spirit through the Motherly Mediation of the Blessed Virgin Mary, our Queen.

Due to the generosity of our members we are able to present the Curia with a check in the amount of $150.00, leaving a balance of $117.68 in our treasury.

Respectfully submitted,
Brother John Noall
President, Our Lady of Fatima Praesidium