EFFINGHAM — At a Jan. 15 gala dinner sponsored by the Greater Effingham Chamber of Commerce and Industry, Msgr. Leo Enlow accepted the 2011 Citizen of the Year award from the Effingham Daily News. The daily newspaper presents the award each year to a person who has made a difference in the Effingham community.
“Msgr. Enlow certainly exemplifies that,” Daily News publisher Steve Raymond, said. “He is an icon in this community; a man who is respected and loved by many. He is a spiritual leader and an educator.”
The pastor of St. Anthony of Padua in Effingham for more than 21 years, Msgr. Enlow recently moved to Quincy to begin a new assignment as pastor of St. Peter Parish there.
“The award came as a very big surprise,” Msgr. Enlow said Jan. 18, when reached back at his office in Quincy. “I appreciate all the St. Anthony Parish families who did this for me. They wrote a number of letters to nominate me for this.
“The award is not given so much for the number of letters submitted, but on what the letters contained. I’m the only Catholic chaplain ever to be given this honor,” he said.
During Msgr. Enlow’s tenure at St. Anthony, he oversaw the growth and development of many parish building projects, including a major church renovation in the mid-1990s to bring the traditional beauty of the church in line with the liturgical rites of the Second Vatican Council.
In March 2001, a new, totally accessible parish center was constructed adjacent to the church. The center has its own kitchen, and also houses the parish office.
Early in the new millennium, an addition was built to St. Anthony High School. It included a new gymnasium, multi-purpose room, new and remodeled classrooms, and school and administrative offices. By June 13, 2008, the 150th anniversary of St. Anthony Parish, the debt for the addition project was retired.
A new two-story St. Anthony Grade School was completed in time for the start of the 2009-2010 school year. The new school’s classrooms, which for the first time in parish history include space for kindergarten classes, are equipped with SMART boards, projectors and computers. The gymnasium at the old school was remodeled and a new school kitchen was built. At the start of the present school year, preschool classes for 3- and 4-year-olds were offered for the first time at St. Anthony’s Grade School.
“Msgr. Enlow has been a key member of our community for many years and has been not only a wonderful spiritual leader, but also a blessing to our community,” said Chamber of Commerce president Norma Lansing.