About St. Anthony Shrine · Cincinnati, Ohio
The National Shrine of St. Anthony and Friary, popularly known as "Mt. Airy," is a Roman Catholic Franciscan shrine and friary perched on a wooded hill above Cincinnati, Ohio, at 5000 Colerain Avenue. Operated since 1888 by the Order of Friars Minor of the Province of St. John the Baptist, it serves as a place of daily Mass, the famous Tuesday Novena to St. Anthony of Padua, and a house of four first-class relics of the saint. The 60-acre property combines an active chapel of public worship, a residence for about a dozen Franciscan friars, the Franciscan Vocation Office, the Franciscan Archives, and the St. Anthony Teleministry, making it both a pilgrimage destination and the spiritual nerve center for the Cincinnati Franciscans.
- Established
- 1888
- Patron
- St. Anthony of Padua
- Rector
- Fr. Mark Soehner, OFM (Provincial Minister of St. John the Baptist Province); Fr. Bill Farris, OFM (Vicar Provincial); Brother Vince Delorenzo, OFM (Guardian of the Friary)
- Diocese
- Archdiocese of Cincinnati (operated by the Order of Friars Minor, Province of St. John the Baptist)
Why belong here
St. Anthony Shrine offers Cincinnati Catholics a quiet, hilltop refuge within the city for daily Mass, the long-standing Tuesday Novena to St. Anthony of Padua, and veneration of four first-class relics of the saint. Visitors can walk 60 wooded acres with outdoor shrines to St. Francis, Our Lady of Guadalupe, and Our Lady of Fatima, light a candle in the open chapel, and connect with the wider work of the Franciscans through the Vocation Office, the St. Anthony Teleministry, and the St. Anthony Bread charitable tradition. It is both a local parish for daily worship and a national pilgrimage site supported by the St. Anthony Shrine Society.
Mass times at St. Anthony Shrine
Weekly Mass schedule
Confession times
- By appointment only — call the Friary office at 513-541-2146
Adoration times
- Chapel open daily from 6:30 a.m. – 4:30 p.m. for private personal prayer
History of the Shrine
The National Shrine of St. Anthony and Friary traces its beginnings to the late 1880s, when Cincinnati philanthropists Joseph and Elizabeth Nurre purchased a country estate in the wooded hills of what is now Mt. Airy Forest for $18,000 and donated it to the Franciscan friars of the Custody of St. John the Baptist. The cornerstone was laid in August 1888, the friars moved in two months later, and Archbishop Henry Elder consecrated the chapel on Thanksgiving Day 1889. Furnishings imported from France, Belgium, Bavaria, Holland, and Tyrol filled the chapel, which originally featured eight side altars and two paintings of scenes from St. Anthony's life over the high altar (covered in the 1978 redecoration). From 1890 to 1967, the friary served as the novitiate for nearly 1,000 candidates; the novitiate moved to Oldenburg, Indiana, in 1969, and the property was refocused as a candidate house and home for resident friars, the Vocation Office, the Franciscan Archives, and the St. Anthony Teleministry.
- 1888 — cornerstone laid; friars move into the original house
- 1889 — chapel consecrated by Archbishop Henry Elder on Thanksgiving Day
- 1890 — first novitiate investiture (Aug. 15, Feast of the Assumption)
- 1967 — end of the Mt. Airy novitiate era
- 1969 — novitiate transferred to Oldenburg, Indiana
- 1970s — Community of Hope (Vatican II renewal) housed at the friary
- 1978 — chapel redecorated (paintings over high altar covered)
The Friars of St. John the Baptist Province
The Shrine has been cared for by Franciscans of the Order of Friars Minor (OFM) since 1888. The Province of St. John the Baptist Province traces its roots to the Tyrolean friars who arrived in Cincinnati in 1844 at the invitation of Bishop John Baptist Purcell to minister to German-speaking immigrants; it became a province of the Order in 1885. Today the province numbers about 130 friars who serve as parish and campus ministers, hospital, military, and prison chaplains, counselors, educators, retreat directors, and missionaries across Ohio, Pennsylvania, Indiana, Illinois, Louisiana, Michigan, Jamaica, New Mexico, Arizona, Washington D.C., and the Philippines. About 11 friars live at St. Anthony Friary; the Provincial Minister is Fr. Mark Soehner, OFM, and the Vicar Provincial is Fr. Bill Farris, OFM, with Brother Vince Delorenzo, OFM, serving as Guardian of the Friary.
- Province founded as a Custody in 1859, raised to a Province in 1885
- About 130 friars in active ministry
- 11 friars in residence at the Shrine
- In 2018, six U.S. Franciscan provinces (including SJB) voted to merge into one new province
Devotion to St. Anthony of Padua
St. Anthony of Padua (1195–1231), a Franciscan preacher and Doctor of the Church, is one of the most beloved saints in the Catholic Church and is especially invoked as patron of lost and stolen articles. The Shrine invites pilgrims to grow in this devotion through the long-standing Tuesday Novena, the annual Feast Day on June 13, and the tradition of St. Anthony Bread — almsgiving in thanksgiving for prayers answered through his intercession. Four first-class relics of St. Anthony are kept at the Shrine; one is permanently visible at the base of the statue of St. Anthony in the back of the chapel, and the others are used for the general and individual blessings offered at the Tuesday Novena and on the Feast Day.
- Tuesday Novena — 2:30 p.m. service and 7:00 p.m. Mass
- Blessing with the first-class relic
- Blessed St. Anthony Bread distributed on the Feast Day
- Feast Day Mass (June 13) and Solemn Novena in the days leading up to it
St. Anthony Bread & the Shrine Society
The tradition of 'St. Anthony Bread' dates to 1263, when a child who had drowned near the Basilica of St. Anthony in Padua was restored to life after his mother promised a gift of grain equal to the child's weight to feed the poor. Today, gifts of St. Anthony Bread given to the Shrine are used to help the poor and support the ministries of the Franciscan friars. Devotees who have prayed for and received St. Anthony's intercession — most often for the recovery of lost items — often send a donation in thanksgiving. The Shrine's work is sustained in part by the St. Anthony Shrine Society, whose members promote devotion to St. Anthony and help fund the Shrine's ministries.
- Donations may be sent to the St. Anthony Friary and Shrine
- Bread is blessed and distributed on the Feast of St. Anthony
- Devotional booklets and prayer cards available through the Friar Works / Development Office
Grounds & Outdoor Shrines
The 60 wooded acres surrounding the Shrine are described by the resident friars as 'an oasis in the city' and are home to deer, wild turkeys, foxes, and many species of birds. Walkways lead visitors through quiet wooded areas past an outdoor shrine surrounded by candles with statues of St. Anthony, St. Francis of Assisi, and Our Lady of Guadalupe; a large crucifix in an adjacent field; and a shrine to Our Lady of Fatima. Brother Vince Delorenzo, OFM, Guardian and groundskeeper, plants flowers and trees throughout the property. The grounds are also the site of the Shrine's popular annual Christmas Nativity display, with large-scale scene installations visible to passing motorists and visiting pilgrims.
- 60 wooded acres across from Mt. Airy Forest
- Outdoor shrine with St. Anthony, St. Francis, Our Lady of Guadalupe
- Large outdoor crucifix and shrine to Our Lady of Fatima
- Annual Christmas Nativity display
Relics of St. Anthony
The Shrine is one of a small number of places in the United States that hold first-class relics — actual fragments of the body or bones — of St. Anthony of Padua. Four such relics are housed at the Shrine. One is permanently exposed in a reliquary at the base of the statue of St. Anthony at the back of the chapel, and the other three are used during the group blessing and individual blessing at the Tuesday Novena and on the Feast of St. Anthony on June 13. Pilgrims regularly venerate the relic and report that the Tuesday novena services draw visitors from across the region.
- One first-class relic is permanently exposed at the St. Anthony statue
- Three first-class relics are used for blessings on Tuesdays and June 13
Franciscan Vocation Ministry
St. Anthony Friary has been a cradle of vocations to the Franciscan way of life since 1890. Although the formal novitiate was relocated to Oldenburg, Indiana, in 1969, the property continues to host the Franciscan Vocation Office, which coordinates 'Come and See' discernment weekends for men exploring a call to the Order of Friars Minor. The friary serves as a candidate house where men in early formation can experience community life, prayer, and ministry alongside the resident friars.
- Franciscan Vocation Office located on-site
- Come and See discernment weekends for prospective candidates
- Candidate house for men in early formation
Planning Your Visit
The Shrine is open year-round and welcomes visitors of all faiths to walk the grounds, pray in the chapel, attend Mass, or join the Tuesday Novena. The chapel is open from 6:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. daily; visitors do not need to knock — simply walk in. From downtown Cincinnati, take I-75 North to I-74 West, exit at U.S. Route 27 North (Beekman Street), turn left on Colerain Avenue, and continue uphill for just over a mile; the Shrine will be on the right. Group tours may be arranged through Colleen Cushard at 513-721-4700.
- Open year-round
- Chapel open daily 6:30 a.m. – 4:30 p.m.
- About 12 minutes from downtown Cincinnati
- Free on-site parking