Franciscan Charities - Province of the Sacred Heart

08/16/2026

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”