STORY BY Matt Hess PHOTO COURTESY Archives of the Missionaries of the Precious Blood, US Province The Land of the Cross-Tipped-Churches is a collection of Catholic churches in the northern part of our archdiocese named for the gold crosses atop their spires. Founded by immigrants who were largely German farmers, …

Fr. John Hoying, C.PP.S., 89, died at 4:29 a.m. on Monday, January 13, 2025, at Lutheran Hospital, Fort Wayne, after a brief illness. He was born on June 17, 1935, in Botkins, Ohio, to Aloys and Mary (Borchers) Hoying, and spent his early years in Celina, Ohio. He entered the …

I remember seeing the star every year as I grew up, after we left our family Christmas party at Grandpa’s house. It was on the dome of the St. Charles Center, a senior living community for Missionaries of the Precious Blood and local lay people. Their simple tradition of placing …

Precious Blood Brother Nick Renner has been a farmer for 60 years. He’s toiled on the land owned by the Missionaries of the Precious Blood in Mercer County, Ohio and he’s seen a lot changes. “When I was a kid, I’d say 50 percent of people were farming, and now …

Over the past few months, we have seen Pope Francis continue his mission from a wheelchair, witnessing for us the strength of his commitment to his ministry of leading the Church. At the St. Charles Center in Carthagena, OH, Missionaries of the Precious Blood and their lay residents are also …

Spring is always a time of renewal, which we see in nature as the days get warmer and the grass turns greener. Catholics enter a period of spiritual renewal, often through prayerful meditation, as Lent begins, then culminates in the celebration of new life at Easter. Meditation on our Lord’s …

Brother Timothy Hemm, C.PP.S., died at 10:20 p.m. on Monday, February 21, 2022, in the infirmary at St. Charles Center, Carthagena, Ohio, after a lengthy illness. He was 74. Br. Tim was born on August 31, 1947, in Piqua, Ohio, to the late William G. and Cecilia (Recker) Hemm. He …

Sister Theresa Rizzo, CPPS, 85, died peacefully on March 7 at Maria Joseph Center in Dayton. She was born February 1937 in Cleveland, Ohio, and entered the Sisters of the Precious Blood, Dayton, Ohio, in 1959. For 63 years she faithfully served God, His people and the Congregation. A Mass …

by Matt Hess Many passersby notice the blue-domed St. Charles Center on US 127, although few cave to their curiosity and enter to see its beautiful chapel. Now a private residence for seniors and priests, this former seminary has a mosaic in its Assumption Chapel that continues to preach Precious …

Father Robert Kunisch, CPPS Father Robert Kunisch, CPPS, died on Dec. 8, in the infirmary of St. Charles Center in Carthagena. He was 89. Father Kunisch was born in Toledo on Aug. 19, 1930. He entered the Missionaries of the Precious Blood in 1944 in Brunnerdale, a high school seminary …