Are you new to Saint Francis de Sales?
Whether you have worshiped here once or twice, are looking for a church to call home, or haven’t been here yet, we invite you to come and experience God’s presence at Saint Francis de Sales. Membership to St. Francis de Sales is simple, you just have to come and worship with us and become involved. We want you to feel comfortable and welcome in our community.
If you want to officially become part of the Catholic Church and you have been baptized in any other Christian church you do not have to be re-baptized. However, when you are ready for it, you need to make a public affirmation of faith during the Easter Vigil Mass when you will receive the Sacrament of Confirmation and Eucharist.
History
Founding:
In the mid-1800s, Catholic families moving to new homes in East Walnut Hills from Over-the-Rhine needed a parish to call their own. They had to walk to St. Philomena’s, St. Paul’s or to All Saints Church to attend Mass and receive the sacraments. For a brief period, some Catholics in the neighborhood attended services in the chapel of the “Mission,” the country house of the Jesuit Fathers of St. Xavier College on Ingleside Avenue.
But in 1849 three laymen – Francis Fortman, Joseph Kleine, and H. Westjohn –recognized the growing spiritual needs of East Walnut Hills Catholics and started establishing a new parish dedicated to St. Francis de Sales. The new parish began modestly, worshiping in Francis Fortman’s barn on what is now East McMillan Street opposite Hackberry Street.