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Welcome
View pictures from Father Greg's trip to the Middle East.
St. Francis
Seraph Ministries
1615 Vine Street
Cincinnati, Ohio 45202-6400
Vision
Statement:
St.
Francis Seraph is a Catholic faith community. We are called to serve
with and among the people of Over-the-Rhine. Our mission is to share
the powerful love of Jesus Christ that changes lives and communities.
In the spirit of St. Francis we proclaim the Gospel through worship,
education, and social justice.
WHO
WE ARE
We are a Catholic faith community called to serve with and among
the people of Over-the-Rhine. St. Francis Seraph Ministries is a
not-for-profit organization established by the friars of the Franciscan
Province of St. John the Baptist. In the spirit of St. Francis,
we strive to proclaim the Gospel through worship, education and
social justice.
Invited to
Cincinnati by Bishop John Baptist Purcell in 1844, the Franciscan
friars, from the Province of St. Leopold, Tyrol, Austria, answered
his call to help meet the needs of the great number of German Catholics
who had been coming to the city since 1830. Bishop James F. Wood
of Philadelphia consecrated St. Francis Seraph Church, the principal
church of the Province of St. John the Baptist, on December 18,
1859.
As members
of the Order of Friars Minor, a Franciscan brotherhood, the friars
of St. John the Baptist Province are inspired by the 13th century
example of St. Francis of Assisi. The friars serve the Catholic
Church as brothers and priests, devoting their lives to the search
for God in a communal life of poverty, prayer, and service to others.
We are located
at the Northwest corner of Liberty and Vine Streets. The
church is handicap accessible. The handicap entrance to
the church is on the east side of the church on Liberty Street,
through the gate between the church building and the garden. The
gate leads to the side entrance to the church. Inside, there are
rows of chairs and with room for wheelchairs. A ramp provides access
to the sanctuary.
Parking is
available along Vine Street, in front of the church on Liberty Street,
or limited parking in front of the St. Anthony Messenger building
on the west side of the church. Please don't block the garage doors
in front of the St. Anthony Messenger building because several priests
who must get out on Sunday mornings to say Mass at parishes all
around the city park their cars in that garage. You can also park
in the St. Francis Seraph School lot on the other side of Vine Street
or in the Husman's lot next to the school lot. Enter off of Liberty
Street onto Moore Street on the east side of the school building.
OUR ENVIRONMENT
A majority of the 12,000 Over-the-Rhine residents are poor and under-educated.
Ninety-five percent reside in 3,500 households below the official
poverty level. In 1990 the median household income in Over-the-Rhine
was approximately $5,000 per year, while the median household of
income for Cincinnati as a whole stood at $21,006. Alcoholism, drug
dependency, inadequate housing and homelessness are major concerns
in the neighborhood.
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