Celebrating the 150th Anniversary of the Sisters of Notre Dame on Sunday, September 8 at 11:30 Mass
Please join us to celebrate the 150th anniversary of the arrival of the Sisters of Notre Dame at St. Peter in Cleveland, Ohio. Their witness to the compassionate love of Christ is woven into the fabric of Historic St. Peter.
The Sisters of Notre Dame originated in Coesfeld, Germany in 1850. Two teachers, Hilligonde Wolbring and Elisabeth Kühling, cared for poor and neglected children whose families could not provide for them. An orphan herself, Hilligonde professed vows and became Sister Maria Aloysia. Elisabeth made vows as Sister Maria Ignatia. The growing congregation of women religious was committed to education, caring for women and children, and witnessing to God’s goodness and provident care.
In a few short decades, the congregation would need to flee Germany due to anti-Catholic legislation. At the same time, many European Catholics were moving to the United States building new churches and schools for the immigrant population. One such parish was St. Peter in Cleveland, Ohio.
In 1874, Sr. Aloysia and 7 other pioneering sisters arrived in Cleveland responding Bishop Gilmour’s invitation. The industrious sisters built a convent east of St. Peter in 1877. The following year, Cleveland became the center of the Sisters of Notre Dame apostolic work when the US motherhouse moved to St. Peter. More women joined their congregation and a larger building was constructed in 1896.
Education was a fundamental part of the SND’s apostolic work. They taught at St. Peter School from their arrival until 1962 (when the school closed). They opened St. Peter High School in 1922 as a two-year commercial school transitioning to a four-year comprehensive high school for girls in 1940. In 1971, St. Peter High School merged with St. Stephen and Lourdes Academy to form Eireview Catholic High School next to St. Peter Church in the building now known as the Cosgrove Center.
The Sisters of Notre Dame have positively impacted the St. Peter community for generations. Since 1874, forty-two women from St. Peter have become Sisters of Notre Dame.
The Sisters of Notre Dame have grown from the intrepid eight sisters who arrived in 1874. Within 50 years of arriving in the United States, the Sisters of Notre Dame counted over 650 sisters serving in numerous locations in Ohio and Kentucky with a reputation for providing exceptional Catholic education. The SND expanded going to Los Angeles, CA to begin ministering on the West Coast.
In addition to their focus on education, SNDs expanded their social outreach ministries to serve emerging needs on the margins of society and to young adults seeking meaning and direction. Today, there are more than 1,600 Sisters of Notre Dame serving in 17 countries across the globe.
“Our charism and spirit remain alive in the Church through our witness of life and apostolic service. In fidelity to our charism we participate in the mission of Jesus Christ, witnessing God’s goodness and provident care to others. The Church sends us through our congregation to assist our sisters and brothers to direct their lives to God in faith so that all may experience God’s goodness.
As an apostolic community committed to our mission, we devote ourselves to education in all its forms, especially to catechesis and to other ministries. Impelled by a missionary spirit, we respond to the needs of the times and share God’s compassionate love with people of all faiths and cultures, particularly those who are poor and marginalized.”
A Mass of Thanksgiving will be celebrated on Sunday, September 8 at 11:30 in Historic St. Peter Church.
The Feast of the Assumption
Join Us for a Concert
Holy Week and Easter 2024
Brazilian Fundraising Feast
Join us on Saturday, March 16 for a fabulous Feijoada Completa- a Brazilian Feast. We have two seatings, 3:00 or 5:00. All meals will be served in St. Peter’s Rectory. Tickets are $35.00 and must be purchased by March 10. Tickets can be purchased at Mass. If you aren’t able to join us, consider reserving a meal for takeout.
Space is limited! We have 50 tickets available for each of our seatings, along with 20 tickets for take-home meals. Please note, there are no Vegetarian or Vegan options for this event.
Here’s What You Need to Do:
- RSVP! Text one of the hosts Carolina, Luciana, or Fabi to let them know how many tickets you’d like.
- Pay in Advance. If you’d like to pay by credit card, they will send you a QR Code for the event. If you’d like to pay by check or cash, they will give you the details about who to make the check payable to and where to send it.
- Join us on March 16 at 3:00 or 5:00.
Lent Is Right Around the Corner
Ash Wednesday Mass
February 14 at 12:00 Noon
Photo by Annika Gordon on Unsplash
Join us for an Evening of Confession at St. Malachi
Wednesday, February 28 from 5:00 until 8:00 PM
Join Us to Pray in the New Year of Grace
Historic St. Peter’s will be kicking off the new liturgical year with prayer, adoration, and reconciliation, followed by snacks!
Join us on Sunday, December 3 for an evening of worship. Prepare your heart and soul for Advent and the beginning of the Year of Grace.
Adoration and Reconciliation from 6:00 until 7:00 P.M.
Mass at 7:00 P.M.
Festive gathering at Moe’s Tavern (1740 E. 17th Street Cleveland, OH) following Mass.
St. Peter Newlyweds Meet Pope Francis
While visiting Rome on their honeymoon, St. Peter Parishoners, Kaitlin and Caleb Palagyi, were able to meet Pope Francis.
Historic St. Peter Parish Celebrates Its New Pastor
Installation Mass for Bro. Phillip Bernier, OFM Cap as Pastor
A Huge Success!
Thank You to the Brazilian community for making this fundraiser such an amazing success for Historic St. Peter. The food and fellowship were absolutely heavenly!
Brazilian Barbecue Fundraiser for Historic St. Peter
Tickets Now Available, Pre-Sale Only!
Join us after 11:30 Mass on Sunday, June 25th for an authentic Brazilian Barbecue. Lunch will be served on our beautiful side lawn.
Tickets available at Mass or see the flyer above for more details about how to purchase tickets in advance.
All funds raised will be used for maintenance and restoration of our historic church building.
Online Giving Now Available
Scan this QR to donate to St. Peters via our secure online giving portal.
CSU Chorale and University Chorus Concert
Please join us for the Cleveland State Chorale and University Chorus Concert on Saturday, May 6 at 7:30 pm at St. Peter in downtown Cleveland, Ohio.
He Is Risen! He Is Risen Indeed!
We had a wonderful Holy Week and Easter celebration here at St. Peters!
There were so many familiar and new faces joining us. As always, we hope to see you next week.
Thank you to everyone who worked so diligently behind the scenes to make sure everything flowed smoothly. Your presence makes St. Peters a truly special place indeed.
Happy Easter to all!
Bro. Phil
Celebrate Holy Week and Easter at Historic St. Peter
Brazilian Carnaval at St. Peter
Please Join Us for a Brazilian Feast Fundraiser!
Saturday, February 18th at St. Peter’s on E. 17th
We can’t wait to gather and celebrate Carnaval with a Brazilian feast. Please see the flyer above for details, ticket information, and to reserve your dinner. All proceeds from this event go toward the restoration of our beautiful church.
A single sunbeam is enough to drive away many shadows. St. Francis of Assisi
Join us as Br. Phil, O.F.M. Cap. leads us in conversation about the Spirit of St. Francis. These conversations will take place in the rectory following 11:30 AM Sunday Mass. Drinks will be provided and we invite you to bring your own lunch. Each conversation will focus on different aspects of St. Francis’ life and spirituality. Bring your questions for Br. Phil, he is happy to answer any questions related to faith and/or what it means to be a Franciscan in the modern world.
Join us for Christmas Eve Mass at 4:00
Join us for Winter Carols and Lullabies
Join us on Saturday, December 17 at 7:00 PM when the Cleveland Chamber Choir will perform Winter Carols and Lullabies at St. Peter Church.
| We look forward to seeing you for Winter Carols and Lullabies, showcasing the Cleveland Chamber Choir under the direction of Jelani Watkins and Peter Wright. More than two-thirds of the works in this concert will be from the Twentieth or Twenty-First centuries. Additionally, this concert series will include the premiere of the newly-composed carols by Ryan Farrell, a performance of The Snow Storm by Dolores White, and the premiere of a commissioned Hanukkah piece by Mickey McGroarty — all three Northeast Ohio composers! The concert will also be interspersed with Benjamin Britten’s Ceremony of Carols with carols arranged by 21st-century composers. A pre-concert talk presented by Charles Edward McGuire, Ph.D., from Oberlin College & Conservatory will be given at 6:30. This concert is sponsored in part by Local 4 Music Fund and The Mandel Foundation. |
Celebrating the Feast of St. Francis
Feast of St. Francis.
Eucharistic Revival in Cleveland
Join us for a Picnic on the beautiful grounds of St. Peter Church following the Eucharistic procession. You won’t want to miss Fr. Damian Ference who will preach XLT!
Restoring the Beauty of St. Peter’s
Over the years, cracks start to form that you might not think are consequential. Little by little, you start to notice them.
Over time, water intrudes and more damage is done.
Part of the joy of gathering in a building that is more than 160 years old is stewarding her restoration.
Thankfully, Cleveland has phenomenal craftsmen who are especially skilled at reviving the original beauty of our building.
This Spring, we embarked on several restoration projects: Our front center doors, the entryway, and St. Peter’s statue.
Thank you to our generous donors who have made this restoration work possible.
The plaster was removed and beautifully recreated by Michael Heben at
Heben’s Plastering and Wall Design.
While the doors may be newer, this threshold has welcomed worshipers to St. Peter’s for more than 160 years. In the past few months, our center front doors were lovingly hand restored by Ray Telisman at Teckniques Unlimited in Jefferson, OH. Woodworkers removed the damage caused by the harsh Cleveland winters and sealed them for protection for years to come.
Cleveland State University Choirs in Concert
Historic St. Peter Catholic Church welcomes the return of the Cleveland State University Choirs in concert.
Join us Wednesday evening, May 11th at 7:30 pm in the church, located at the corner of E. 17th St. and Superior Ave. in downtown Cleveland.
The concert is a free gift to the community from the Music Department of the University — all are welcome to attend.
Holy Week Schedule
April 10 Palm Sunday of the Passion of the Lord
11:30 AM Blessing and Procession of Palms followed by Mass
7:00 PM Mass and distribution of Palms
April 13 Tenebrae Service
7:00 PM Service
April 14 Holy Thursday
7:00 PM Mass of the Lord’s Supper
April 15 Good Friday
3:00 PM Liturgy of the Lord’s Passion
April 16 Holy Saturday
8:15 PM The Great Vigil of Easter (gather in the courtyard, weather permitting)
April 17 Easter Sunday
11:30 AM Mass (There will be no 7:00 PM Mass on Easter)
Join us on St. Patrick’s Day!
St. Peter’s Catholic Church is the perfect place to start your St. Patricks’ Day Parade celebration.
HOT COFFEE
HOT CHOCOLATE
LEPRECHAUNS
SHAMROCKS AND
TONS OF BAKED GOODS
Please join us before the Cleveland St. Patrick’s Day Parade. All proceeds from the bake sale go to support the restoration fund for our beautiful church.
Lenten Opportunities at St. Peter’s Catholic Church
Join us at Noon, March 2 for Ash Wednesday Mass.
Every Saturday morning in Lent, we will also gather at 9:30 AM to pray the Stations of the Cross in front of our beautiful Stations artwork (shown to the left) followed by confession.
Young Adult Mass, Social, and Bible Study in Downtown Cleveland
We are excited to introduce The Rock on 17th!
Join us on Sunday evenings at 7:00 PM at St. Peter Catholic Church for our Young Adult Mass. There will be a Social after each Mass.
Struggling to make it through the week and looking for some spiritual sustenance? Make sure to mark your calendars for Wednesday evening at 7:00 when we’ll gather for conversations centered in Scripture. Come as you are and join us in the rectory.
Let’s support the Cleveland State University Newman Center in their Baby Shower for the mothers at Zelie’s Home. Please bring any of the items listed on the flyer to Mass on Sunday, November 21.
Items requested include: diapers, wipes, warm baby sleepers, and bottles. Dream items include car seats, strollers, or Pack N Play.
No donation is too large or too small.
Newman Campus Ministry at CSU is excited to invite you to a Mass on campus in celebration of All Saints Day.
Mass will take place Monday, November 1 at 11:45am in the Student Center Ballroom (A&B).
All are welcome and we can’t wait to see you there!
Our Saturday morning service projects help beautify the beds around St Peter’s Rectory!
Thanks to all helping to neaten up the yard and get it ready for winter.
Do not fear….we’re still here!
The front door restoration project has begun! First the flanking doors, then to the center.
Praying and hoping that the project will be completed by Christmas to welcome the Christ Child with renewed shining oak doors!
Catholic Young Adult Ministry @7 on 17th
Launched in Downtown Cleveland
St. Peter’s is the “hub” for a new experience of ministry for young Catholics in downtown Cleveland and beyond. @7 on 17th is the result of a unique collaboration between the parish, the Capuchin Friars, the Vicar for Evangelization, and the Young Adult Ministry Office of the Diocese of Cleveland, Ohio.
Beginning October 4th, the Feast of St. Francis, you can participate in a variety of social, spiritual, and service activities offered six days each week. You will have the chance to connect with other young adults while deepening your faith and serving the needs of our community. Bring a friend and check out these events.
Join us @7 on 17th for one, two or all of the events each week:
Sunday: Mass @ 7:00PM in St. Peter Church (E. 17th and Superior).
Monday: Mass @ 12:15PM in the church chapel.
Tuesday: CSU Newman Night presentation @ 7:00PM in the Parish House attached to St. Peter’s Church (1533 E. 17th St. Cleveland, OH 44114).
Wednesday: Bible Study @ 7:00PM in the Parish House (1533 E. 17th St. Cleveland, Oh 44114).
Thursday: Adoration and Reconciliation @ 7:00PM in St. Peter Church.
Saturday: Morning Service Projects. Join our email list to be notified where we will serve.
Join us when you can “@7on17th”…and bring a friend or two!
St. Francis Day– Blessing of the Animals
To honor St. Francis, the founder of the Franciscan Order, a friend of all creatures, and patron saint of ecology, St. Peter’s Church (1533 E. 17th) invites you to join us for a traditional Blessing of the Animals at the church on Monday evening, October 4th at 7:00 PM.
We will gather where best on the property depending upon the weather and the number of animals waiting for their blessing. We’ll have cider and “treats”, too.
Donations will be accepted to support PAWS Ohio and its mission for caring for animals in need. All are welcome.
PALM SUNDAY OF THE PASSION OF THE LORD March 28, 2021
The rain detoured our procession from outside to inside the church. With the blessing of our palms, following the cross, we sang, “Hosanna to the Son of David”
as we processed to our seats.
We stood listening to the reading of the Passion of Christ, singing the refrain “Jesus remember me when you come into your kingdom”. Soberly we sat for the
homily.
Br Phil began, “What more needs to be said?” He then highlighted what we had heard. “The moment of abject failure is the moment of glory. This was the
moment he came for, the moment we were saved”.
Br Phil spoke of the image of Jesus as the humble aspect of a humble God, a God who was stripped naked, stripped of glory to die on a cross.
If you have ever been falsely accused.
If you have ever been abandoned by life,
If you have every been asked to give everything up, stripped of dignity,
Jesus know exactly how you feel.
In his passion, carrying his cross Jesus falls, and Jesus now assists us in our falling.
We see that everything in God that falls can and will rise.
This mystery of our faith gives us the opportunity to enter into Jesus’ life.
Bro Phil implored us to “make this week a holy week”.
Today, in the Passion reading we envisioned Jesus “beaten, stripped, and naked on the cross before the entire world. We saw ugliness in the sight of humanity
turned to beauty in the sight of God”
In his closing remarks, Bro Phil recited the second reading from Philippians 2:6-11.
“Christ Jesus, though he was in the form of God, did not regard equality with God something to be grasped. Rather, he emptied himself, taking the form of a slave
coming in likeness; and found human in appearance, he humbled himself, becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross. Because of this,
God greatly exalted him and bestowed on him the name which is above every name, that at the name of Jesus every knee should bend, of those in heaven and
on earth and under the earth, and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord to the glory of God the Father.”
Peace, Anne
Reflections: Twenty-Fifth Sunday in Ordinary Time September 20, 2020
“For my thoughts are not your thoughts, nor are your ways my ways, says the Lord”. If we would contemplate that statement every day it would help guide us in our prayer and actions. Brother Akolla began his homily focusing on how we live in a merit based society. We work to achieve success and monetary reward; we study to achieve good grades which we believe lead to career success etc. We believe in “quid pro quo”, what for what; I should receive a benefit for my effort.
Emphatically Br Akolla stated “God doesn’t work that way”. God is generous beyond our understanding and gives us what we don’t merit. Depending on whom you identify with in the gospel reading, the
workers who toiled all day, or those hired toward the end of the day, we experience God’s generosity very differently. We only see the griping of the full day laborers, who expected to be paid more than the other workers. (Mt 20:1-16a). The landowner, replies “are you envious because I am generous?”
God’s justice is not based on merit, but on mercy, God’s faithful loving kindness. So as God is patient and kind to us, we are asked to be patient with others. We are all aware of our failings, of our countless goals to “do better” and repeated slips. Br Akolla reminds us to take comfort, “God says, ‘I am not finished with you yet,’”
Our response to God patient kindness is to model it with others after receiving it wholeheartedly within us. We are invited to kingdom living by remembering we are all created in the image and likeness of God and therefore worthy of respect from each other as equals. Br Akolla reminded us again to be people of action. In the gospel, the landowner hires more workers from the marketplace, asking them “Why do you stand here idle all day?”
The question Br Akolla put to us is is “What are you doing lately to build the kingdom?” . How have we “built up” our brothers and sisters. What have we done for the “least of them”. How are we praying and serving the sick, the unemployed, the forgotten, and marginalized. He reminded us we cannot be “on the sidelines concerning racism”.
Finally, he invited us to notice that a grateful heart “keeps us from envy”. Envy separates us from God and our neighbor. It blinds us to the goodness of our lives and all the gifts we have received.
May we remember the goodness of God, the wonder of God’s creation, each of us and our sisters and brothers throughout the world. May we go forward in our lives with grateful hearts and treating each other with respect and loving kindness.
Peace, Anne Butts
Twenty-Fourth Sunday in Ordinary Time—September 13,2020
Since I did not write an entry for last week, I will include some of Brother Marva’s reflections here also. He presided at the liturgy last week and today. Outside, the cool breeze sometimes mirrored his statements about us not being in control. We had to stake down the tents before his homily because
the “Spirit” in the form of a strong wind threatened to topple his covering.
He reminded us that last week’s gospel was the roadmap for forgiveness, encouraging us to address our grievances directly, one on one, with the person involved instead of speaking about them to others as a first recourse. Today’s gospel focused on the frequency of our forgiveness. In the gospel, after hearing the importance of forgiving our neighbor, Peter is asking “Do I really have to keep forgiving for as long as I have to?” Jesus’ “No” is really a “Yes”. Brother Marva emphasized that Jesus reminded Peter to “do more” forgiving—“seventy-seven times”, a never ending process.
Last Sunday Brother Marva caught our attention with Tina Turner’s hit song “What’s love got to do with it” remarking that Paul’s letter to the Romans might have a title “love’s got everything to do with it”. It is stressed again in the readings today. Sirach calls us to “Remember your last days, set enmity aside” in order to receive God’s mercy by granting it to others in the form of forgiveness. Holding grudges and fueling our anger with resentment controls us after a while and destroys the bonds of love. How many of us have witnessed peaceful deaths after moments of reconciliation. Just as the gospel’s indebted servant was forgiven by his master, we can remember the unconditional love and perpetual forgiveness of God. Then, unlike the servant, we are charged with passing on this loving forgiveness to others.
As Brother Marva mentioned last Sunday and today, forgiveness is hard. Often, we cannot believe God could forgive us, either through the sacrament of Reconciliation or in our private prayer. He said, “we are asked to let go of our ‘stuff’ so we can release the burden in others”. For as St Paul wrote in Romans, “Whether we live or die, we are the Lord’s”. We think we are in control, but we are not. We are invited to examine our behavior and relationships and do the hard work of asking and granting forgiveness. We ask it of God, ourselves and each other. We commit to moving forward each new day, leaving behind our old habits so we don’t fall back to old behaviors. The hope of today’s message is “no matter how hard or difficult our lives feel, no matter how we fail, God forgives and loves us over and over”. Can we live fruitfully to do the same?
Peace, Anne Butts
