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Mission
Professing one Faith, one Lord, and one Baptism, Our Lady of the Rosary Parish is a Roman Catholic community of the people of God redeemed by Jesus Christ and sanctified by the Holy Spirit. Strengthened by Prayer, the Sacraments, and the Word, we seek to know Jesus Christ fully, to serve Him faithfully, and to experience the transforming power of the Holy Spirit. Through the Stewardship of our Time, Talent, and Treasure, we strive to minister to the spiritual and material needs of all God's Children. Empowered by the gifts of the Holy Spirit, we proclaim the Good News of Salvation through Jesus Christ and invite everyone to join us in the Kingdom of God where the Justice, Peace, and Joy of Christ abound.
History
Over sixty years ago, Land O' Lakes Catholics traveled to St. Anthony's Church in Brooksville to attend Mass. Then in 1952, thirty adults from this community received approval from Archbishop Joseph P. Hurley to establish a mission church in Land O' Lakes. Because of the shortage of diocesan priests, the Archbishop had requested the Benedictines at St. Leo Abbey to serve the mission in Pasco, Hernando and Citrus counties.
On October 5, 1952, in the VFW hall on Highway 41, the first Mass was celebrated by Right Reverend Father Francis Sadler, O.S.B., the Abbott of St. Leo. Since October 7th is the Feast of Our Lady of the Rosary, the mission was given her name.
The exuberance and dedication of this small group of parishioners, spearheaded by a newly organizaed Holy Name Society and a Women's Society, soon resulted in the development of a fund for the purchase of land and building a church. By the end of 1957 the land had been purchased, the building contract signed, with the ground breaking to follow. The general contractor built the walls, the roof, and the floor of our church, but the men of the parish did the rest - painitng, wiring, plumbing, partitions, ceiling, and landscaping. On July 7, 1958 the first Mass was celebrated in the new church. The crucifix and the statues of Our Lady and St. Joseph, that grace our new worship center were contributed by a parishioner and installed for their first Mass.
Pastors of Our Lady of the Rosary Church have been:
-56 Reverend James Hoge, O.S.B.
1956-58 Reverend Cassian Foley, O.S.B.
1958-63 Reverend Michael Leap, O.S.B.
1963-66 Reverend Aloysius Dressman, O.S.B.
1966-70 Reverend Edward Martineau, O.S.B.
1970-72 Reverend Peter Reynolds
1972-73 Reverend John Bolger
1973-94 Reverend Stephen Dambrauskas
1994- Reverend Ronald Aubin
The Parish Center was built on the Highway 54 property in 1979. In 1982 the wall behind the altar of the church was taken out to add six pews to the front of the church. When Father Ron Aubin arrived July 1, 1994 we had outgrown the original church and a search was on for new property, which was purchased on Collier Parkway. In September of 1994 a switch was made. The church was moved to the Parish Center and the original church became Mary's House. After many plans for the new site were finalized, we had the ground breaking for the new Transitional Worship Center on August 15, 1998. On November 27, 1999 the Most Reverend Robert N. Lynch, Bishop of the Diocese of St. Petersburg opened the doors to our present home.
In 2007, the present Mary's House and Immaculata Hall, along with adding to the office building were opened.
Seven deacons have been ordained from our parish and they are:
Reverend Mr. Forrest "Bud" Evans
Reverend Mr. Augustin "Augie" Ortiz
Reverend Mr. Eric "Rick" Wells
Reverend Mr. David "Dave" Lesieur
Reverend Mr. Dennis Snyder
Reverend Mr. Kenneth "Ken" Anderson
Reverend Mr. Frank DeSanto
On May 18, 2002 we were especially blessed with the ordination of our first priest from our parish, Reverend Bill Dallas Wilson followed by Reverend Kyle Smith on May 17, 2014. We pray for many more.
Finally we step into the future by "Just Pedaling"