Early Catholic Missionary Settlement

The Society of the Precious Blood, established in Italy in 1815, began its American ministry in Peru in January 1844 under Swiss missionary Father Francis de Sales Brunner. Continuing the work begun by the Redemptorists at St. Alphonse in 1833, the Missionaries of the Precious Blood, or Sanguinists, provided spiritual support and education to German immigrants in northern Ohio. In July 1844 the Sisters of the Precious Blood, established in Switzerland in 1834, also began their ministry of prayer and education there. The priests, brothers, and sisters served parishes across northern Ohio and, between 1844 and 1856, established nine major foundations in Seneca, Mercer, Putnam, and Auglaize Counties in Ohio.

Ohio · United States