Living the Charity Charism Together

“Be diligent in serving the poor. Love the poor, honor them, my children, as you would honor Christ Himself.”

St. Louise de Marillac

By Angela Anno, Associate

(From left) Associate Kathy McDonald (with Marianne Lander and Ivy Peppers) are members of St. Leo’s multicultural Sunday music group.

In 1886, a group of German and Italian immigrants began establishing a community in the emerging neighborhood of North Fairmount in Cincinnati, Ohio. They were drawn to the area’s lush greenery and peaceful atmosphere. They built homes, opened stores and schools, and developed lifelong friendships. Life was good – but something was missing. They longed for a church of their own, a sacred place to worship God who had been so good to them.

They began planning and saving money to build a church. By 1904, they had completed the church basement—much of it built with their own hands—and began gathering for Mass. The current church was completed in 1911. For more than 60 years, St. Leo’s thrived as a vibrant parish with a school and many ministries that served both church and community.

Eventually, as people moved to the suburbs, Mass attendance declined, and the neighborhood grew poorer. Yet in God’s providence, this poverty became a gift—it opened hearts and helped parishioners welcome immigrants fleeing violence and poverty in Latin America, and refugees escaping genocide in Africa.

The parish’s 125th anniversary celebration provided a visible sign of the growing unity. In the opening procession, the oldest parishioner—a women in her 90s whose dad did masonry work on the church— entered alongside the youngest parishioner, a newborn Guatemalan infant. St. Leo’s was becoming one family. We came to believe that if we could pray the Eucharist together, we could do anything together—and it proved true.

The once-dwindling congregation is now growing. A new generation of immigrants and refugees is renewing the parish’s spirit of welcome and community.

Today, St. Leo’s is a multicultural parish where Anglos, African Americans, Hispanics, and Africans praise God as one family. “My heart fills with joy when we pray together on Sunday,” said a Guatemalan woman. An African parishioner added, “It is our privilege … we are all brothers and sisters of Jesus.”

Mother Seton, who dedicated her life to those on the margins, would have been right at home at St. Leo’s, and Sisters and Associate are living out her mission today.

ith bilingual experience, S. Cj Willie (right) is a helpful support to parishioners at St. Leo’s in North Fairmount.

S. Tracy Kemme joined the parish staff in 2020 as pastoral associate for adult faith formation where she helped develop bilingual programs on social justice, scripture and climate change, and coordinated programs with partner parishes to share St. Leo’s mission. When she transitioned to a new ministry, she introduced Angela Anno, then a volunteer pastoral associate at St. Leo’s, to the Associate program. Now an Associate herself, Angela sees her ministry with immigrants and refugees as an extension of her commitment to following in Mother Seton’s footsteps.

St. Leo’s also has been collaborating and sharing resources with S. Sandy Howe whose ministry is working with and advocating for refugees and persons seeking asylum. Before she left for a new ministry in Washington, D.C., Nigerian S. Victoria Anyanwu and African refugees shared recipes and native remedies. Their cultural connections were also evident in their sharing of prayer and relationship with God.

S. Cj Willie joined Angela in teaching an online First Communion class during COVID and now helps support immigrants in knowing their rights. She brings additional resources from her work in Africa and Latin America as well as trainings she attends. Being bilingual is an asset in her ministry.

Associate Kathy McDonald has joined the multicultural Sunday music group, while Associate S. Karen Elliott, CPPS, offers support to immigrants by assisting with paperwork and accompanying them to court.

Other Sisters and Associates volunteer with parish projects, embodying the Sisters of Charity’s mission: “Urged by the love of Christ and in the spirit of our founder, Elizabeth Ann Seton, we Sisters of Charity of Cincinnati strive to live Gospel values. We choose to act justly, to build loving relationships, to share our resources with those in need, and to care for all creation.”

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