About Our Lady of Hope Roman Catholic Parsh · Bedford, Ohio
Our Lady of Hope Roman Catholic Parish is a Catholic community located at 400 Center Road in Bedford, Ohio, in the southeast suburban area of Cuyahoga County. Established in 2009, the parish was formed through the merger of three previously independent Bedford-area parishes — St. Pius X in Bedford, St. Mary in Bedford, and Holy Trinity in Bedford Heights — under Bishop Richard Lennon's sweeping diocesan reconfiguration of the Diocese of Cleveland. The parish served the Bedford community for sixteen years, offering weekend and daily Mass, the sacraments, religious education, and outreach. In April 2025 the Diocese of Cleveland announced that Our Lady of Hope would itself be merged into neighboring St. Mary Parish, Bedford, effective May 4, 2025, bringing the original St. Mary community back together with the former St. Pius X and Holy Trinity faithful under one parish umbrella.
- Established
- 2009
- Patron
- Our Lady of Hope (Blessed Virgin Mary, under the title 'Our Lady of Hope')
- Rector
- Father Joseph Seebauer (pastor of St. Mary and Our Lady of Hope at the time of the 2025 merger; parish subsequently merged into St. Mary Parish, Bedford)
- Diocese
- Diocese of Cleveland
Why belong here
Our Lady of Hope offered Bedford-area Catholics a unified, neighborhood-sized community with a manageable Mass schedule (Saturday Vigil, Sunday morning, and weekday mornings), the regular availability of Confession before the Vigil Mass, and a long tradition of lay ministry and religious education rooted in the former St. Pius X, St. Mary, and Holy Trinity parishes. The parish benefited from the pastoral care of diocesan priests and the Vincentian Sisters of Charity, who had ministered in Bedford for generations. Visitors and parishioners were welcomed into a community shaped by the Bedford cluster's legacy — sacramental life, faith formation for children and adults, and the simple, working-class character of southeast Cuyahoga County Catholic life.
Mass times at Our Lady of Hope Roman Catholic Parsh
Weekly Mass schedule
Confession times
- Saturday 3:00–3:30 PM
Parish Identity & Location
Our Lady of Hope Roman Catholic Parish is located at 400 Center Road in Bedford, Ohio, in the southeast suburban cluster of Cuyahoga County, within the Diocese of Cleveland. The parish serves Catholics in Bedford, Bedford Heights, and surrounding communities, and it is identified on the official diocesan directory as established in 2009. The mailing address is 400 Center Road, Bedford, OH 44146-2296, and the parish office can be reached at (440) 232-8166 or [email protected].
- Address: 400 Center Road, Bedford, OH 44146-2296
- Phone: (440) 232-8166
- Email: [email protected]
- Diocese: Cleveland
- Founded: 2009
History & Formation
Our Lady of Hope was canonically erected on July 1, 2009, as the combined successor to three parishes in the Bedford area: St. Pius X in Bedford, St. Mary in Bedford, and Holy Trinity in Bedford Heights. The merger was part of Bishop Richard Lennon's diocese-wide reconfiguration, which closed or merged dozens of parishes across the eight-county Diocese of Cleveland beginning in 2007. A transition committee chaired by Deacon Terry Downey worked for roughly eighteen months alongside diocesan leadership to shape the new community.
- Created July 1, 2009 from St. Pius X, St. Mary (Bedford), and Holy Trinity (Bedford Heights)
- Founding administrator: Father Jim Bjorum
- Transition committee chaired by Deacon Terry Downey; vice-chair Michael 'Duke' DeLong
- Bishop Richard Lennon directed the merger in spring 2009
- 2025 re-merger into St. Mary, Bedford announced by Bishop Edward Malesic
2025 Merger into St. Mary Parish
In the April 2025 Diocesan Memorandum, Bishop Edward Malesic announced that, after appropriate consultation, Our Lady of Hope Parish would be merged into Saint Mary Parish, Bedford, effective May 4, 2025. Father Joseph Seebauer, who had been named pastor of both St. Mary and Our Lady of Hope, guided the transition. The change reunited the original St. Mary community with the former St. Pius X and Holy Trinity parishioners under the St. Mary name.
- Announced April 2025 by Bishop Edward Malesic
- Effective date: May 4, 2025
- Receiving parish: St. Mary, Bedford
- Pastor at time of merger: Father Joseph Seebauer
Clergy & Pastoral Staff
Our Lady of Hope was served by diocesan priests, assisted by religious sisters and lay staff. Father Jim Bjorum was the founding administrator when the parish was erected on July 1, 2009. Sister Irene Mraz, a Vincentian Sister of Charity, served as pastoral minister through the merger and continued in active ministry at the parish until her retirement in May 2017. Father Joseph Seebauer served as pastor in the years leading up to the 2025 re-merger with St. Mary.
- Father Jim Bjorum — founding administrator (2009)
- Father Joseph Seebauer — pastor prior to May 2025 merger
- Sister Irene Mraz, VSC — pastoral minister (1999–2017)
Vincentian Sisters of Charity Connection
Our Lady of Hope is intimately tied to the history of the Vincentian Sisters of Charity, who had their Bedford motherhouse — Villa San Bernardo — in the same community. The congregation came to the Cleveland Diocese from Pittsburgh in 1928 at the request of Bishop Joseph Schrembs to provide Slovak-speaking sisters, became an independent diocesan order in 1939, and in 2004 merged with the larger, younger Sisters of Charity of Cincinnati. Sisters from the Vincentian community ministered across the Bedford parishes for decades, including at St. Pius X (school and religious education), St. Mary, Holy Trinity, and Lumen Cordium High School.
- First Vincentian sisters arrived in Cleveland Diocese in 1928
- Independent diocesan order from 1939
- Merger with Sisters of Charity of Cincinnati finalized June 27, 2004
- Bedford motherhouse renamed Villa San Bernardo Residence
Mass & Sacrament Schedule
The published Mass schedule for Our Lady of Hope included a Saturday Vigil Mass, one Sunday morning Mass, and three weekday Masses (Monday, Tuesday, and Friday). Confessions were heard in the half-hour before the Vigil Mass. The parish also celebrated the Anointing of the Sick and Last Rites on request, as documented in parish funeral liturgies.
- Saturday Vigil Mass: 4:00 PM
- Sunday Mass: 11:00 AM
- Monday Mass: 8:00 AM
- Tuesday Mass: 8:00 AM
- Friday Mass: 8:00 AM
- Confessions: Saturday 3:00–3:30 PM
Ministries & Faith Formation
Parish life at Our Lady of Hope drew on the ministries, organizations, and lay leadership of its three predecessor parishes. Religious education and sacramental preparation were provided for children, with adult faith formation and RCIA offered through parish and diocesan programs. The community benefited from the ongoing pastoral presence of the Vincentian Sisters of Charity and the wider Sisters of Charity of Cincinnati network, supporting parish and outreach ministry.
- Religious Education / Faith Formation
- RCIA and adult faith formation
- Pastoral care by Vincentian Sisters of Charity / Sisters of Charity of Cincinnati
- Lay liturgical, council, and outreach ministries inherited from St. Pius X, St. Mary, and Holy Trinity
Sacraments
Our Lady of Hope prepared parishioners for and celebrated the seven Catholic sacraments. The most regularly scheduled sacrament beyond Mass was Reconciliation, offered Saturday afternoons. Baptisms, weddings, First Communion, Confirmation, and Anointing of the Sick were scheduled through the parish office.
- Baptism — by arrangement through the parish office
- Reconciliation — Saturday 3:00–3:30 PM
- First Communion and Confirmation — via Religious Education
- Marriage — preparation through the parish office
- Anointing of the Sick / Last Rites — on request, including at local nursing homes
Community & Outreach
The parish served a stable, working-class Catholic community in southeast Cuyahoga County and provided outreach to the homebound and those in nursing facilities, as reflected in funeral and pastoral-care notices. Its community life was woven into the broader Bedford Catholic identity shared with the Vincentian Sisters of Charity and the surrounding parish cluster.
- Visitation and Anointing of the Sick at local nursing homes
- Pastoral care for homebound parishioners
- Connection to wider Sisters of Charity of Cincinnati ministries
Diocesan Context
Our Lady of Hope belonged to the Diocese of Cleveland, headed from 2006–2016 by Bishop Richard Lennon, who initiated the parish reconfiguration that created the parish. The diocese is led by Bishop Edward Malesic, under whose leadership the 2025 merger of Our Lady of Hope into St. Mary, Bedford was announced. The parish was listed in the diocesan parish directory under the Southeast Suburban cluster.
- Diocese of Cleveland
- Southeast Cuyahoga County suburban cluster
- 2009 creation under Bishop Richard Lennon
- 2025 merger under Bishop Edward Malesic
Pastors & rectors through the years
- Father Jim Bjorum2009
Appointed administrator of the newly formed Our Lady of Hope Parish on July 1, 2009
- Father Joseph Seebauerthrough May 2025
Named pastor of both St. Mary, Bedford and Our Lady of Hope; led the community until the parishes were merged effective May 4, 2025