Franciscan Charities - Province of the Sacred Heart

06/23/2025

11/29/2022

Today is the day! Help support our ministries this Giving Tuesday. We are incredibly grateful for your prayers and support ❤️

07/09/2022

At the beginning of the war on Ukraine, our six provinces in the United States joined together to raise money to assist our friars and provinces in Ukraine, Poland, Lithuania, and other surrounding countries aiding both those forced to flee Ukraine and those forced or choosing to stay in the country and support war efforts. To date, we have raised over $800,000 through our Franciscan Relief Fund and have already disbursed $500,000 to the region.
Today I am visiting a province just outside of Kraków, Poland. Currently they are housing over 70 refugees and had as many as 120 at any given time during the early months of the war. It is estimated that more than two million refugees have settled in Poland so far.
The Provincal, Fr. Teofil Czarniak, O.F.M gave us a tour of the beautiful grounds and introduced me to some of the families staying here. Most families consist of women and children as men 18 years and older are not allowed to leave Ukraine. The only exception is for fathers of more than three children, who are allowed to leave and return freely. The children I met and interacted with are so cheerful and resilient. They have integrated into the polish school system and all speak Polish fluently after just a few short months. A couple of the children speak just a few words of English like “hello” and “goodbye”, but at one point in our conversations a 12 year old girl spoke very clearly in English only to say “I hate Russia.” Her innocent vulnerability caught me off guard and I couldn’t help but acknowledge the pain and anger she must be feeling.
Tomorrow I will have time to converse with and interview the children as well as a few other families. I look forward to hearing their personal journeys to this point and hope to understand more about their needs going forward.

07/07/2022

I am looking forward to visiting our provinces and friars in Poland and Lithuania over the next week or so to learn more about their ministries and efforts to assist Ukrainian refugees. I will do my best to share photos and updates along my journey.

05/19/2022

It is with heartfelt sorrow that we announce the passing of Father Damien Dougherty, O.F.M. You may recall he had mass at St Anthony's but more often he had mass at the former St Alexius Hospital where he had a committed following. Services will be on Wednesday June 1st here at St Anthony's with visitation starting at 10:00 am followed by the funeral Mass at 11:00 am. This will be followed by lunch in our parish hall & a 2:00 pm burial service at St. Peter and Paul Cemetery for internment of his cremated remains. Please keep him and all the friars of the Sacred Heart Providence in your prayers!

11/30/2021

Giving Tuesday is here! Your gift today impacts lives through our friars and their ministries. Thank you in advance for your continued prayers and generosity.
https://conta.cc/31bOBXz

06/08/2021

Amazon Prime Day is coming! June 21 and 22.
Now's a great time to set up "Franciscans Province of the Sacred Heart" in St. Louis, MO as your Amazon Smile charity of choice!

05/06/2021

Today is Give STL Day and we are honored to be a part of it.

Our mission is to permeate our society with Gospel values. We are to be instruments of change and heralds of peace in a broken world, serving all people, especially the poor and marginalized, through reconciliation and healing. Our mission, in a variety of ministries, is to try to respond to the nee...

02/17/2021

Lent offers so many ways for us to "Repent, and believe in the Gospel”

12/26/2020

Merry Christmas!

12/01/2020

Giving Tuesday is here! Your gift today impacts lives through our ministries.
▫️Providing access to safe water in remote villages in Africa
▫️Distributing food and personal items at St. Anthony’s food pantry
▫️Educating future generations from grade schools through college
▫️Offering utility and rental assistance through the Franciscan Connection
▫️Educating new friars and fostering vocations
▫️Supporting missionary friars around the globe
▫️Caring for retired friars
▫️Ministering to the sick and home bound
▫️Sharing the Gospel in the charism of St. Francis
Thank you for your prayers and support!

11/19/2020

We have received some very welcome news: the generous people of St. Margaret Mary Alacoque Parish in St. Louis have donated $15K for our ongoing project to bring safe drinking water to the people of the Democratic Republic of Congo. Just in time, too...

Nyembo Magloire writes with a request for a new well:

The village Imako, located in the DRC 165 km from the city of Lubumbashi to the west and 45 km from the city of Likasi to the south of the city, has a community of Franciscan brothers ofm, 3 Brothers have lived there for 6 years . Very poor village, which survives thanks to agriculture and little fishing.
For several years, this village has not had priests simply because the difficulties were enormous. The lack of water was among the difficulties for the establishment of a religious community. There are some dynamic brothers who agreed to live there sharing the living conditions of the population.
Currently we have 2 priests and a young brother in training.

The brothers also took care of agriculture. This village has only one church with 95% of the Catholics. The village has a school, a small market and has 275 families with an average of 5 children per family. The population is very poor and for a Sunday Mass, the request is $ 0.75 USD which must take care of the brothers.

This village has no drinking water, the population and the brothers drink water from the rain or the river in the event of a dry season.

We will be very grateful to you, dear Father Vicar Provincial in the event of assistance for this population.
Fraternally.
Brother Magloire