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Parish History
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On October 3, 1981, Monsignor John Scully was given the responsibility of establishing a parish in the Countryside/Clearwater area. The next morning he celebrated Mass in the yet unnamed parish referred to as the "Countryside Mission Catholic Church". At that time our parish neighbors were St. Ignatius, north; Light of Christ, south; Espiritu Santo, east; Our Lady of Lourdes, west. The location of the new church was 13.1 acres of land on State Road 580, a quarter of a mile west of U.S. 19 North. Before the church was built, Sunday Liturgies were celebrated in the Countryside Movie Theater until Monsignor obtained the use of the new Countryside High School. Weekday Liturgies continued to be celebrated at Chief Charlies Restaurant.
On December 11, 1981, Most Reverend W. Thomas Larkin, D.D. Bishop of St. Petersburg broke ground for the new church. Construction on the temporary church building began later that same month. The projected completion date was December, 1982. On December 24, 1982, the First Eucharistic Liturgy was celebrated in the Church on Christmas Eve. The Church was formally blessed by Bishop W. Thomas Larkin on March 13, 1983. Monsignor John Scully was transferred to St. Theresa Catholic Church in Spring Hill and Reverend Donat McDonagh was appointed Administrator and later, named Pastor in June 1983. Three and a half years later, Reverend James E. Russo was installed as Pastor on February 14, 1987.
In 1991, Guardian Angels Primary School opened in the new classrooms at St. Michael's with Rev. James E. Russo as School Pastor and Sr. Jean Marie Dick, S.N.D., as Principal. The 35 kindergarten and first graders had Cindy Mann and Cindy Malinski as their teachers. St. Michael's would be its home until the fall of 1995, when it moved to new facilities on Evans Road.
On March 3, 1997, Reverend Colman M. Cooke was appointed Pastor, arriving on April 8, 1997, and formally installed by Bishop Robert Lynch on June 8, 1997. Building on the accomplishments of his predecessors, Fr. Cooke began a program of the complete refurbishing of the parish and the parishioners responded generously. Father Cooke launched a year-long celebration of the Silver Jubilee of the parish in November, 2005, which included social activities and a parish retreat preached by Bishop Robert Lynch. The Silver Jubilee Campaign retired the parish mortgage and paid for the completion of the refurbishment of facilities; with the slogan "Debt Free For Our Jubilee" the campaign surpassed its goal.
Father Gregg Tottle was appointed Pastor of St. Michael the Archangel by Bishop Robert Lynch effective July 1, 2009.
Chronology- December 24, 1982, the First Eucharistic Liturgy was celebrated in the Church on Christmas Eve
- St. Michael Housing, Inc. was established and on September 30, 1983, the construction of Casa Miguel, a joint Diocesan/Housing and Urban Development (HUD) facility began
- Casa Miguel received its first residents on October 5, 1984
- On March 2, 1986 - Ground breaking for the Administration Building, Cenacle, Chapel and 12 classrooms
- February 6, 1988 - The new Administration Building, Cenacle, Chapel and 12 classrooms are opened
- January 1993 - The Phase I Building Campaign for the addition of a Narthex, Sacristies and Meditation Garden
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Prayer to St Michael
Saint Michael the Archangel,defend us in battle
Be our protection against the
wickedness and snares of the devil;
May God rebuke him, we humbly pray; and do Thou, O Prince of the Heavenly Host,
By the Divine Power of God,
cast into hell, Satan and all the evil spirits who roam throughout the world seeking the ruin of souls.
Amen.
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Parish Coat of Arms
Our parish coat of arms can leave the casual observer with a few questions: What does all this symbolize? The following answers those questions.
A red cross that has each arm end in a ball, is known as a “cross pommel”; it is also known as the “Cross of St. Michael.” These arms that cross, honoring the titular patron of the parish, have been modified to be an inverted Latin Cross (as we would usually think of it, upside-down) to honor St. Peter, for whom the Sea City of the Diocese of St. Petersburg is named.
Tradition tells us that when St. Peter was to be crucified by the Romans he felt himself unworthy to die in the same way as Our Lord. Obligingly the Romans honored his wish and crucified him upside-down. Thus, by using the inverted Latin Cross Pommel, in red, we honor both St. Michael the Archangel, patron of the parish, and St. Peter, patron of the diocese.
The background of the shield is composed of wavy bars of blue and white to represent the clear waters, for which the city of Clearwater is named.
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