About the Nonprofit
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St. Leo the Great Catholic Church is a diverse and welcoming Eucharistic Community living out our mission through liturgy, prayer, and outreach via the spiritual and corporal works of mercy. We feed the hungry, cloth for the poor, comfort the sick, and visit those who are in prison, and welcome all to a diverse community with open arms.
We strive to build God’s kingdom by sharing God’s love through ministries of serving and being present in our urban neighborhoods, while focusing on the spiritual and corporal works of mercy.
St. Leo’s offers a spiritual home and pastoral care for Burundi and Congolese African refugees, refugees of genocide, Guatemalan immigrants escaping political oppression, and for the residents of the low-income neighborhoods of North Fairmount, Millvale, and the Villages of Roll Hill.
At St. Leo, we are committed to serving our community through various programs and initiatives. One such program is the Children's Liturgy of the Word that runs from September to May during Sunday Mass and attracts an average of 80 children each week.
We serve over 1,100 people a month at our food pantry that has been volunteer-run for over 37 years, providing food assistance to families in need as a Choice Food Pantry. Our efforts rely heavily on the support of volunteers, donations, and sponsors.
As a parish, we actively participate in events such as The Freestore FoodBank Hunger Walk 5K to raise funds for our food pantry. We organize three separate events throughout the year, including Toy & Clothing Giveaway at Christmas, A Day of Hope providing backpack and school supplies in collaboration with the Faith Alliance Coalition Team with the City of Cincinnati District 3 Police Station, and Winter Coat Giveaway, to offer additional support to our community.
Our Baby Ministry welcomes new parents and provides healthcare information along with a starter kit that includes diapers, books, and blankets. St. Leo Youth Group actively engages with local nonprofits dedicated to serving underprivileged individuals, such as Matthew 25 Ministries, LaSoupe, and Habitat for Humanity.
We are also committed to enhancing the quality of living in our community through our involvement with Millcreek Alliance, a group of service providers. St. Leo has been the founder and convener of Fairmount Providers, a network of churches and service providers who meet eight times a year to share information and collaborate in joint projects serving the community.
In our efforts to be environmentally friendly, we offer a Community Garden where parishioners can grow their own food, and any food leftover is donated to our food pantry. We also offer weekly English-as-a-Second-Language classes. Most recently, we have started offering a Paperwork Assistance Program twice a month to assist our non-English speaking parishioners complete any forms or documents.
Furthermore, we have dedicated a beautifully painted outside wall to prayer—St. Leo’s Prayer Wall—where people are invited to give thanks or call upon God’s presence for help in times of need. We also provide a space for Alcoholics Anonymous to hold weekly meetings in our facility.
At St. Leo, we are proud to serve our community through a variety of programs and initiatives, all made possible through the hard work and dedication of our volunteers and supporters.