A DOMINICAN
MIRACLE IN
COLUMBUS, OHIO
Adapted with permission from Regina Magazine
A few quick facts about this amazing
parish:
• It is over 150 years old
• It is surrounded by old warehouses
and a secular community college
• It is located in the downtown core of
a major metropolitan city
• It has no “neighborhood” – no houses,
no families, no community
• It was established and built by poor
Irish immigrants
If your first reaction is: “It would take
a miracle to fill that church” you would
probably be right – anywhere, that is, but at
Saint Patrick’s Church in Columbus, Ohio.
St. Patrick’s is brimming with youthful,
traditional, and, some say, evangelical
religious and parishioners, thanks to the
steadfast efforts of the Dominicans. Here,
Fr. Boniface Endorf, O.P., talks with Regina
about his experience as parochial vicar at
St. Patrick’s:
What drew you to the Dominicans and
parish ministry?
The Dominican charism is to preach for
the salvation of souls, which puts it in the
center of the new evangelization. I wanted
to be on the front lines.
What has been your experience to date at
St Patrick’s?
St. Patrick’s is a great parish. The
parishioners are very devoted and active,
and there are always many things going on.
Also, we have a great confessional ministry.
We have daily confessions and people come
from all over Columbus for daily mass and
confession.
The pastor of St. Patrick’s, Fr. Michael
Dosch, O.P., said offering people hope in the
confessional means helping them see the
ways God is already working in their lives,
lifting them up in little or big ways.
I hope to show God’s mercy to those who
come to confession, and for those who have
either wandered away from the Church
or who have never known Jesus in their
lives. Mercy is coming to know God’s love
in one’s life, and so I hope to help people
know that divine love. Without that there
is no hope or salvation, but with it is true
joy and peace.
BlackFriars - Volume III, Issue III
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