Consecrated Religious Men

Congregation of the Mission (The Vincentians) 

Vincentian priests and brothers of the Western Province bring the light of the gospel to the world through personal encounters with our sisters and brothers, particularly those on the margins. Following the example of St. Vincent, we see the face of christ in the poor, lonely and forgotten. Nurtured by prayer and communal life, we fulfill our mission by caring for the least of God’s people.

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Dominican Friars

The Dominican Friars (Order of Preachers) established St. Dominic Priory on July 1, 1981, as the house of studies (studium) of the Province of St. Albert the Great (Central Province) and at the same time moved their school – Aquinas Institute of Theology – to St. Louis.  A “priory” is fundamentally a community of Friars who come together to pursue the end of the Order of Preachers – “preaching and the salvation of souls”; by extension the term is applied to the physical house in which the Friars reside. 

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English Benedictine Congregation

Our work primarily takes the form of two apostolates: Saint Louis Priory* School and Saint Anselm Parish. Both of these long-standing apostolates are all located on the Abbey grounds. About 15 monks work in the 400-student high school, two monks run the 1000-family parish and some brothers have specific jobs within the monastery proper.

The apostolates of teaching and ministering have been a major part of English Benedictine monasticism for centuries.

Although the works are demanding, they are balanced and sustained by the prayer life. In fact, the works are inspired and fueled by faithfulness to prayer in all its forms, and before any and all work that we engage in, we are first of all monks dedicated to prayer, worship, and growth in holiness.

* When the school was founded our monastery was a priory. When we became an abbey the community decided to retain the name of The Saint Louis Priory School for the school since by this name it had achieved a considerable reputation in colleges and universities across the country.

Franciscan Brothers of the Holy Cross

The Congregation of Franciscan Brothers of the Holy Cross is a religious community of vowed men who share in the mission of Jesus by serving the needs of people and The Church in the tradition of St. Francis.  We are called by God to follow gospel values and to respond with compassionate care and ministry to all human needs.  We serve by caring for individuals with developmental disabilities, providing pastoral care, working in health care roles, and serving as teachers, secretaries, musicians, tradesmen, and in leadership roles of service.

As brothers, we live a life in community. we are dedicated to a life of prayer and service as we seek to be witnesses of Christ's love for all in our community, in our ministries and the world.

Franciscans

The Franciscan Province of the Most Sacred Heart of Jesus began as an American mission from the Saxonian Province of Holy Cross, in Germany.  they are officially recognized as the Order of Friars Minor, a religious order, simply known as the “Franciscans.”  In 1858, they responded to an invitation from the bishop of Alton, Illinois and were entrusted with the care of the german-speaking parish of Saint Francis, in Teutopolis.  Special permission from their Franciscan superiors granted the friars reasonable travel permits, use of money and special garb.  This allowed the Franciscans to spread the gospel throughout the surrounding areas in Quincy, Illinois and Saint Louis, Missouri.  

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The modern-day Franciscan Missionary Brothers of the Sacred Heart of Jesus had their beginnings in this tradition when, in 1888, their order was founded in Poland. In 1922, two of the brothers visited the United States and, in 1927, the Franciscan Missionary Brothers were officially welcomed into the Archdiocese of St. Louis.  That same year, we acquired the St. Joseph's Hill property outside Eureka, restored the buildings that had been abandoned 15 years earlier, and began accepting residents who needed continual nursing care.

Today's Franciscan Missionary Brothers are steeped in proud and solemn traditions of the past. Their apostolic endeavors range from supporting the needs of nursing home residents, to those afflicted with hiv and other disenfranchised people––as well as as their work in maintaining and operating the Black Madonna Shrine and grottos, which welcome thousands of visitors each year. 

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Croatian Franciscans

Being strong catholics and descendents of one of the oldest Catholic nations in the world, a group of immigrants from Croatia sought to establish a parish where they could serve God as they did in their fatherland.

These pioneer Croatians in 1902, almost exclusively of the working class, pulled together to organize a national parish, according to historical accounts. With the guidance of Msgr. Davorin Krmpotic, pastor of a Croatian parish in Kansas City, Kan., their endeavors slowly were realized after they received permission from Archbishop John J. Glennon to establish the parish.

They welcomed a Croatian priest, Father Oscar Suster, and began to attend masses at St. Wenceslaus parish in South St. Louis. Then, parishioners were able to purchase a Jewish synagogue on the corner of 11th street and Chouteau avenue. Archbishop Glennon dedicated the St. Joseph Croatian Catholic Church on Sept. 25, 1904.

Institute of Christ the King Sovereign Priest

The Institute of Christ the King Sovereign Priest is a society of apostolic life of pontifical right whose goal is the honor of God and the sanctification of priests in the service of the Church and souls. Its specific aim is missionary: to spread the reign of our Lord Jesus Christ in all spheres of human life. Our work is carried out under the patronage of the Immaculate Conception, to whom The Institute is consecrated.  

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Jesuits (Society of Jesus)

The Society of Jesus is an order of Roman Catholic priests and brothers founded nearly 500 years ago by St. Ignatius Loyola. With more than 15,000 priests, scholastics and brothers worldwide, it is the largest male religious order in the Catholic Church.

The Jesuits USA Central and Southern (UCS) Province is one administrative body within the international Society of Jesus. The UCS Province is comprised of approximately 325 men serving in 13 states, Puerto Rico and Belize. It is based in St. Louis where more than 130 Jesuits reside.

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La Salette Missionaries

Our Community: The missionaries of Our Lady of La Salette are deeply rooted in the apparition of Our Lady of La Salette which occurred near the hamlet of La Salette in southeastern France on Sept. 19, 1846. The missionaries were founded in 1852 by Bp. Philbert de Bruillard, bishop of Grenoble, France, and presently serve in some 25 countries.

Our Province: The Province of Mary, Mother of the Americas, was founded in 2000ad and is one of several provinces in the congregation. The members of this province serve mainly in the countries of Canada, the United States and the region of Argentina/Bolivia.

Our Mission: Our La Salette ministry of reconciliation responds to the broad vision given by Mary at La Salette as well as in response to the needs of The Church. as reconcilers, we together with the laity take seriously Mary’s mandate: “You will make (Mary’s) message known to all (her) people.”

Marianists

The Society of Mary (Marianists), an international Catholic religious order of brothers and priests, was founded in 1817 in France by Blessed William Joseph Chaminade. The Society of Mary, together with a religious order of women, the Daughters of Mary Immaculate, and numerous affiliated lay groups, form the Marianist family.

In 1898, the Marianists opened their first school in the St. Louis Archdiocese.  

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Missionaries of the Holy Family

Offering the Perpetual Mass Association since 1933, the Missionaries of the Holy Family (MSF) is a worldwide, Roman Catholic, men’s congregation of over 900 priests and brothers with a special focus on emphasizing the Holy Family as the standard of holiness for all families.

The worldwide leadership for the Missionaries of the Holy Family is the generalate, and it is located in Rome. There are 15 provinces and numerous missions. The Missionaries of the Holy Family serve in 22 countries.

They have served St. Wenceslaus Parish in St. Louis since 1960.

Montfort Missionaries

The first Montfort Missionaries arrived in the United States at Port Jefferson, NY in 1903.

Today Montfort Missionaries from the USA serve in the Dioceses of Brooklyn, Rockville Centre, Hartford and Saint Louis and also as missionaries in Nicaragua, Central America. Throughout the world, nearly 1,000 religious brothers and priests serve The Church in 27 countries. In all we do, we work alongside dedicated men and women who form partners in our missionary work and help us preach the good news and to call the Church to live for God alone.

Passionists

We Passionists proclaim God’s love for the world revealed through the Passion of Jesus Christ.

The Passionists, a family of priests, brothers and laity, reach out with compassion to the crucified of today. We keep alive the memory of Christ’s passion through our commitment to community, prayer, ministries of the word, and service to those who suffer. We welcome all who seek renewed life through the power of the cross and the hope of the resurrection.

The Passionists are a Roman Catholic religious order of vowed priests and brothers, sisters and nuns operating with the full support and approval of the vatican and the Holy Father.  Our mission is the communication of the saving message of the Cross of Jesus Christ.  Passionists are scholars, preachers, spiritual directors, retreat masters, teachers, chaplains, authors, musicians, artists, researchers, gardeners, poets and ministers to the suffering people of the world.

Paul Francis Daneo, an italian mystic and saint known popularly as St. Paul of the Cross, founded the Passionists in 1720.  For St. Paul of the Cross, the Passion of Jesus was “the most overwhelming work of God’s love.”  He was convinced that renewed awareness of the suffering of Christ could lead persons to deepened faith and help them to find meaning in the midst of their suffering and distress.  Through ministries of preaching and communication, St. Paul of the Cross worked to renew the religious awareness of his time, particularly among the neglected groups of his society.  Today Passionists everywhere continue the mission of their dedicated founder.

The Passionist Congregation came to America in 1852, settling in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.  Holy Cross Province celebrated 100 years in 2006.

Redemptorists

St. Alphonsus Liguori, moral theologian and doctor of the church, founded the Congregation of the Most Holy Redeemer (Redemptorists) in Naples, Italy in 1732 as a religious congregation of the Catholic Church. The congregation was formally approved in 1749 by Pope Benedict XIV.  The original mission as set forth by St. Alphonsus was to strive to follow the example of Jesus Christ by preaching the gospel to the poor and the most abandoned, particularly to those who live on the margins of church and society.

All Redemptorists use the initials “C.Ss.R.” after their last names. These four letters are an abbreviation for cCongregatio Sanctissimi Redemptoris, the latin for “Congregation of the Most Holy Redeemer."

Resurrectionists

Charism:  We desire to be faithful to the grace received by our founder, a grace we now share by our call to the Congregation of the Resurrection. We recognize certain truths to be especially important for our life and work as Resurrectionists because they give expression to the grace and call.

We believe that God’s love for us is merciful and unfailing. We have not earned his love. we are nothing, have nothing, and can do nothing without God. We are attracted to evil. We are sinners. Yet god continues to draw us to himself.

We believe that in his love the Father calls us to conversion: to personal resurrection in union with Jesus, to a new life filled with the power of his spirit. With Jesus we die to ourselves when we surrender our lives to the Father, renouncing anything that separates us from him. The power of the Spirit forms Christ in us, and moves us to respond with love to the Father’s great lover for us.

We believe that God calls us to live together as brothers, sharing the gifts that we have received, supporting one another, praying and working together for His glory. He has called us to be a community which is a living sign of the gospel values of justice, truth, and love.

We believe that God calls us to work together for the resurrection of society, bringing His live and love to all: through our personal witness, through the witness of our life in community, and through our community apostolates, primarily through parish work and teaching. This also requires that we build, and teach others to build, a christian community in which wall can experience the hope, joy, and peace of Christ’s resurrection.

We believe that Mary is our model for all that we are called to be and do as Resurrectionists.

Servants of the Paraclete

The Servants of the Paraclete is an international religious community founded by Rev. Gerald Fitzgerald S.P. in 1947 with a specific ministry to serve fellow priests and brothers who are facing particular challenges in their vocations and lives. We are located near St. Louis, Missouri, and continue to offer the St. Michael renewal program, a carefully integrated program for growth and healing, and Vianney Center, a residential faith community for priests and brothers who wish to live their vocation at its core of prayer and fraternity.

Society of Christ 

The Society of Christ for Poles living abroad is a family made up of priests, brothers religious, and seminarians. They are popularly referred to in North America as the Society of Christ Fathers.

The main aim of the Society of Christ for Poles living abroad is to worship God and achieve holiness through the imitation of Jesus Christ. In a special way, members of the society take an active part in the apostolate of caring for the souls of Poles living outside the borders of Republic of Poland.

St. Agatha Parish exists primarily to serve the spiritual needs of those of the Polish language and ethnicity living in the St. Louis area.  We live our faith in union with the supreme pontiff and the Archbishop of St. Louis.  While living in american society, we celebrate our heritage of rich cultural traditions.  Through the intercession of Our Lady of Częstochowa, the queen of Poland, and St. Agatha, the patron of our parish, we seek to fulfill our calling in Jesus Christ by living out our Catholic faith in love, justice and peace.

The Society of Our Mother of Peace (Sons)

The Society of Our Mother of Peace was founded in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma in 1966 by Father Placid Guste. The original foundation was transferred to Springfield Missouri in 1976. In the meantime, in 1971 a second foundation was made in High Ridge, Missouri, approximately twenty miles from St. Louis, Missouri. A third foundation was made in 1998 in the Philippines and a fourth in Nigeria in 2002.

The Society is composed of three separate communities: The Sons of Our Mother of Peace for religious priests and brothers; The Daughters of Our Mother of Peace for religious sisters; and the lay members community for lay, married or single men and women. It was born of an inner call to combine the contemplative and apostolic lives in a context of material simplicity in such a manner that the apostolic call would express rather than submerge the contemplative spirit.

Society of the Divine Word

The Society of the Divine Word is a Roman Catholic order of priests and brothers who focus on missionary work.

St. Arnold Janssen, whom Pope John Paul II canonized in 2003, founded our religious order in 1875. A German diocesan priest, Father Janssen recognized the need for a German missionary order. Because of friction between the Catholic church and the Bismarck government, he had to establish his base in the Netherlands in a little town named Steyl. At the time of his death in 1909, The Society of the Divine Word had missionaries in 15 countries on six continents. today, we serve the people of 71 countries on six continents.  (The Divine Word Missionaries arrived in North America in October 1895.)

Our work can be described as contemporary missionary work.  We follow the second vatican council’s "decree on the church’s missionary activity" in our efforts to bring the gospel message of salvation to all people while simultaneously respecting their human dignity and cultural heritage.  Within the Catholic Church, we are known for working with indigenous people, immigrants, refugees and the disenfranchised. Our specific ministries vary because we respond to the needs of the individual communities in which we serve.

In some corners of the globe, we have helped to develop education systems. In other parts, we provide humanitarian and social development programs. We also give pastoral care, which includes working as retreat directors, counselors and chaplains. The common thread that binds us is that we recognize the sacred in each human being and attend to those most in need.