Coming Together
By 1970, all three parish schools had experienced significant drops in enrollment. In addition, the dwindling numbers of Sisters of St. Joseph forced them to announce that they could not staff all three of the parish schools in the Highland- Homecroft area the following school year. As a result, St. Therese and St. Leo incorporated a new school, Highland Catholic, which opened its doors in September 1971 to a total of 460 students: 287 from St. Leo, and 173 from St. Therese. Eight years later, in 1979, St. Gregory also joined Highland Catholic School.

During the 1970’s and 1980’s, the three parishes put into practice the spirit of Vatican II by calling all parishioners to ministry within the church. The laity increasingly became more active in the liturgical, social outreach and leadership facets of our parish communities.

The formation of parish councils provided new roles for parishioners. Other changes included communal celebrations of the sacraments of penance and anointing of the sick.
The 1990’s brought major changes in the structure of all three parishes. In 1994, at the direction of the Archdiocese of St. Paul and Minneapolis, the three parishes of St. Leo, St. Therese, and St. Gregory began to forge closer ties. The purpose of this was to maximize financial resources, make the most of the diversity of talents and skills in all three parishes and the school, and prepare for a future likely to include both declining numbers of priests and increasing spiritual needs, as well as an increasing demand for the educational excellence afforded by Catholic schools.

This “clustering” process manifested itself in many ways. In January 1994, the Mass schedule changed so there was no overlap among the three parishes. On June 15, 1994, Msgr. Terrance W, Berntson of St. Gregory and Fr. Thomas P. Hunstiger of St. Leo were assigned by Archbishop John R. Roach to become co-pastors of the newly formed Highland Catholic Community (HCC). On July 1, 1994, the HCC began using a common bulletin for the three parishes.