Parish ministry provides Franciscans an opportunity to serve God’s people directly, day after day. Friar John Bamman is the latest in a long line of Conventual Franciscan pastors at St. Anthony of Padua Church in Clarksville, Indiana. The friars arrived in 1867, following the Civil War, to begin care for St. Anthony Parish. Friar Bonaventure Keller was the first to shepherd the people there, beginning an unbroken line of Conventual Franciscan pastors that continue to this day.
Through devastating floods and fires, the parish has met many challenges. Today, there is a preschool and K-8 school, a vibrant parish community, and ministries that touch hearts across southern Indiana.
Our joy is the mortar that binds us, our unity the strength that holds each brick in place. We are still a people who rebuild after every storm—spiritual and literal. Like the generations before us, we continue to trust in the promise that faith, community, and gratitude can weather anything. Stronger than a lighthouse against a raging, storm-tossed sea, we are St. Anthony strong.
(This is an excerpt from The Mortar that Binds US: A Look back at 175 years of St. Anthony Strong in the St. Anthony Newsletter published by the Province of Our Lady of Consolation – read the article by clicking here.)
The parish began in Jeffersonville, Indiana, in 1851, and moved to Clarksville in 1949. The church is celebrating 75 years in Clarksville.
