St. Charles Center

Address: U.S. Route 127, (Carthagena) Celina, Ohio 45822 (Mercer County)

Phone: (419) 925-4516 Website Audio Tour

Mass Times: Sun. 11:00 am? Confessions:

Center (Seminary) Founded: 1861 Seminary Built: 1878

Architect: Unknown Architectural Style: Romanesque, Gothic

History: In the year 1844, Precious Blood Missionary Father Francis DeSales Brunner brought with him from Switzerland 7 priests and 7 brothers to begin a mission for serving German speaking settlers living in Ohio. During that era millions of people were coming to the U.S. There were five million Irish people, fleeing from their country after the “potato famine”; another five million German immigrants came to the United States with most of them looking for farm land in the new world of America.

Around the year 1835, African-Americans were given a tract of land and a boarding school named Emlen Institute in the settlement named Carthagena which received its name from Cartagena, Columbia, South America, in turn after Carthage, Africa. After some years, the experiment failed and the establishment was no longer in use. Emlen Institute and 200 acres of land were purchased in 1861 by the Missionaries of the Precious Blood to become a training center for Precious Blood priests and brothers. The Seminary was named after St. Charles Borromeo (1538-1584) who was known for organizing seminaries for training priests.

This first building became known as Old Abbey. It was enlarged and served many purposes. What was then called the "new" seminary was built in 1878 and replaced some of the functions of the Old Abbey, but both buildings continued to be used. The number of students, staff and other residents continued to grow and what we call the present main building was finished in 1922 and has replaced both the Old Abbey and the "new" seminary building. The number of philosophy and theology seminarians reached as high as 120. The St. Charles Theologate School closed in 1969, when diminishing vocations made the continuance unfeasible. Theology students now attend the Catholic Theological Union in Chicago with seminarians from over 20 other religious communities. Presently St. Charles is the home for retired priests and brothers. A cemetery lying south of the main building was plotted in 1900 and serves as the burial grounds for priests and brothers of the Society.

With the closing of the St. Charles Seminary the buildings became a retirement site for aging Missionaries of the Precious Blood and a few diocesan men. As the numbers of retired CPPS have decreased since a peak between 1980 and early 1990’s, there are fewer rooms occupied. So a number of the rooms have been remodeled into senior living apartments. The Saint Charles Senior Living Community, a non-profit retirement community sponsored by the Missionaries of the Precious Blood, welcomes residents ages 55 or over, regardless of national origin, race, or religious creed. The goal at Saint Charles is to offer a holistic approach to resident living.