Tucked away in the warehouse district downtown between Mount Vernon Avenue and East Naghten Street lies the Dominican community of St. Patrick’s parish and priory. For over 145 years, the men who don the white habit and black cappa have served the parish of St. Patrick’s and the wider Diocese of Columbus. Today the Dominican community at St. Patrick’s is known for offering confessions seven days a week and for being a parish without boundaries. To deal with the geographical challenges, the friars have become creative in running the parish for the last few decades. The blessing of having young families and homeschool communities continue to radiate from within the church doors. Yet, to most outside the St. Patrick community, the Dominican charism of preaching the gospel truth for the salvation of souls remains hidden or unknown. The charism of the Order of Preachers is steeped in the riches of the church: the common doctor, St. Thomas Aquinas, St. Dominic himself and the conventual way of life shape and inform the preaching and apostolic work of the Dominican Friar. The Dominican charism is a gift to the church. Consequently, our Dominican way of life should not remain hidden or unknown. Our life and preaching are meant to be shared.
The Dominican presence in the state of Ohio goes back to Somerset and the founding of St. Joseph Catholic Church, the first Catholic church in all of Ohio. For decades, Somerset was the place where every Dominican friar began his formation to the priesthood in the novitiate year. Today, the friars also minister in the archdiocese of Cincinnati and the diocese of Youngstown. In our history, the friars had preaching bands of itinerant priests who would be assigned to one priory but go out weeks at a time to preach parish missions, retreats and days of recollection.
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The itinerant preacher imbibes the Dominican mendicant way of life—preaching and begging for alms. As times changed, the preaching bands were broken up and the needs of the province of St. Joseph evolved, but the desire to share the Dominican charism with the wider local church continued to animate the Dominican heart. This desire has inspired a renewal in the friars’ itinerant preaching efforts. Specifically, a new preaching initiative for the Province of St. Joseph, Godward is beginning to take shape not only here in Columbus but in other parts of the Dominican province.
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When I was assigned to St. Patrick’s in July 2025, I learned quickly about the challenges we face in building our parish community. We have over 95 zip codes in our parish registry. Families on Sunday come in from north, south, east, and west of Columbus. Sometimes they only see each other in passing at a Sunday Mass. The desire for community coupled with the desire to launch our new preaching initiative, Godward, led to the creation of our summer series, Theology on the Homestead. For five Sundays this summer, our parish hosted a family catechesis on the theology of marriage and family life. Five generous families agreed to host the entire parish at their home on a Sunday evening. Over 100 people gathered every Sunday, from Plain City to Granville, Sunbury and Circleville, we traveled. A Dominican preached at each homestead event. The sounds of children playing in the yard, the chickens crowing in the coup, bluegrass music, and the smell of savory food filled the air this summer. Our parish came together to share in the Dominican charism and to build Christian community. The fruits of the summer continue to inspire me and the friars to be creative in finding ways to expand the presence of Godward and our preaching charism in our diocese.
The man behind the inception of Godward is Father James Sullivan, O.P. Fr. James was tasked by our provincial with leading the charge in a provincial wide renewal of itinerant preaching. As an experienced itinerant preacher, Fr. James is a natural fit for the job. His Boston wit and Irish heart quickly charm everyone he meets including our very own Bishop Earl K. Fernandes.
Godward is still in the infancy stage but it continues to take shape as abstract ideas become concrete plans. The Dominican Friars of the Province of St. Joseph are willing to come to your parish, your school or home to preach a mission, a retreat, or an evening catechesis for the family, school or parish. It could be a friar from Columbus or from somewhere else in the province. At the very least please pray for the friars and for our Province of St. Joseph, that we may continue to preach and serve in the Diocese of Columbus with zeal and fervor for the salvation of souls!
