Social Mission
Inward Reflection, Outward Action
The social mission of the Catholic Church is a fundamental aspect of our faith that aims to improve the lives of the poor and vulnerable. Guided by Catholic Social Teaching, the Jesuits’ Universal Apostolic Preferences to walk with the excluded and care for our common home, the Corporal Works of Mercy, and the Archdiocese of Cincinnati’s Love in Action principle, St. Xavier Church engages in a variety of service ministries to bear hope and healing to our neighbors and all of creation.
Social Mission Leadership Team
The St. Xavier Social Mission Leadership Team (SMLT) drives the expansion of social mission throughout the parish. The SMLT comprises parishioners representing a variety of ministries, interests, and demographics, and meets monthly with the Director and Associate Director of Social Mission to develop service ministries and other outreach opportunities, plan programs and events, and establish structures for meaningful engagement.
Get Involved
For more information about our social mission efforts, including the following service ministries, please contact us.
St. Vincent de Paul Society
The core of the St. Vincent de Paul Society is the person-to-person home visit, where “Vincentians” (church-based volunteers) meet with those seeking assistance to find ways to support them and meet their needs. St. Xavier Church volunteers join with members from the Cathedral to meet, pray, and visit on Saturday mornings, 9 AM to 12 PM.
Tender Mercies
Tender Mercies transforms the lives of homeless adults with mental illness by providing security, dignity, and community in a place they can call home. St. Xavier parishioners provide hot meals once a month. Volunteers and donations are always needed the last Sunday of the month.
Ignatian Spirituality Project
The Ignatian Spirituality Project (ISP) offers retreat programs to men and women recovering from homelessness and addiction, inviting them to experience God’s unconditional love by taking time away to reflect on and deepen their relationship with the God of their understanding, to gently name the places inside that need healing, and to bond with others on the journey. Volunteers provide transportation for retreat attendees and serve on the retreat teams.
Xavier Jesuit Academy
The newly formed Xavier Jesuit Academy (XJA) in Bond Hill provides a scholarship-funded, faith-based education for boys in grades 3 through 8. Service opportunities beginning in the 2024-25 school year include: tutoring and homework help, extracurricular activities, office assistance, event set-up and support, lunchtime and/or recess assistance, and campus clean-up.
Mother Teresa of Calcutta Dining Room
St. Francis Seraph Ministries is always in need of volunteers to help share the warmth of a good meal with those experiencing poverty in Over-the-Rhine. Breakfast and dinner are served Monday – Friday from 6:45 – 9 AM and 3:45 – 6 PM.
Transforming Jail Ministries
The mission of Transforming Jail Ministries (TJM) is to take God’s message of hope to those in jail. One Sunday a month from 8:30 – 10 AM, a Catholic ministry team of parishioners joins in this mission by leading prayer services at the Hamilton County Justice Center or Talbert House.
Visitation Ministry
Through the newly forming St. Xavier Visitation Ministry, parishioners will assist in the pastoral care of the congregation by visiting and accompanying those who are dealing with grief, isolation, illness, job loss, spiritual crisis, or other difficult times in life.
Jesuit Parish Family Healthy Earth Team
The Jesuit Parish Family Healthy Earth Team is our parish family’s response to Pope Francis’ call to ecological conversion issued in his encyclical Laudato Si’: On Care for Our Common Home. Begun at Bellarmine Chapel in 2015 and expanded to St. Xavier Church in 2025, the team’s mission is to inspire our parish family through educational initiatives to connect the tenets of our Catholic faith and the need for action in protecting our common home from ecological exploitation and injustice.
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