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About Us

Welcome to Bellarmine Chapel (St. Robert Bellarmine Chapel), a Catholic parish within the Jesuit Parish Family of the Archdiocese of Cincinnati, located at the heart of Xavier University. We serve the campus community and parishioners from over sixty zip codes across Cincinnati, Northern Kentucky, and Southeast Indiana.

At Bellarmine Chapel, we are dedicated to fostering lay leadership and upholding a strong tradition of action and outreach, inspired by Catholic Social Teaching and the Universal Apostolic Preferences of the Society of Jesus. Our vibrant and expanding parish is connected to Xavier University and the broader community, providing us with a unique opportunity to engage with future leaders of the Church. Through our livestream ministry and our inclusive, inviting, and embracing parish family, we invite people from all walks of life to join our dynamic and welcoming Catholic community.

As a Jesuit parish, we are an integral part of the Society of Jesus. From Jesuit priests to parishioners to lay ministers, we work together in our diverse ministries to guide others toward God, support the marginalized, accompany the youth, and care for our common home. Inspired by the Spiritual Exercises of St. Ignatius Loyola, we strive to deepen God’s presence in each of us through prayer and spiritual formation, which in turn energizes our dedication to our extensive and ever growing social mission.

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Our Vision

The Jesuit Parish Family: Being transformed in the Body of Christ, to bear hope and healing, in the Ignatian tradition.

Jesuit Parish Family Principles

  • Living the Gospel
  • Eucharistic Community
  • Ignatian Spirituality
  • Radical Hospitality & Inclusivity
  • Justice & Service
  • Building Relationships
  • Future Orientation & Growth
Learn more about our vision for the future

Our Mission

Bellarmine Chapel is a Catholic faith community that strives to live out the teachings and example of Jesus Christ in the spiritual tradition of St. Ignatius of Loyola. We seek to be a parish where the Holy Spirit transforms lives in new and creative ways.

Nourished at the table of the Eucharist, we are sent on a mission to make disciples, serve those in need, work for justice, and welcome all with love.

Our Values

  • Following the spiritual pathway of St. Ignatius, especially the Spiritual Exercises and discernment
  • A strong connection to the wider Catholic Church, as well as other faith communities
  • Trust that the power of God will make our efforts successful as we, lay leaders and Jesuits, collaborate in the work and decisions of our parish
  • Continual faith formation across all generations
  • Helping our young people to form strong relationships and create a hope-filled future

  • Celebration of the sacraments
  • Gathering as a community of loved sinners and everyday saints in shared worship
  • Centrality of the Eucharist

  • Inherent dignity and worth of every person
  • Diversity in the broadest sense that transcends categories and labels
  • Service, compassion, charity, and generosity
  • Care for creation, our common home
  • Preferential love for the poor, vulnerable, and marginalized
  • Inclusion that welcomes and nourishes the gifts of everyone
  • Prophetic witness to justice and liberation, removing barriers to full human thriving

Our parish was initially formed in April of 1927 to serve the neighborhood community in the proximity of Xavier University.

Before the construction of Bellarmine Chapel, the parish shared space in the university’s administration building for events and liturgies.

The present chapel was built in 1962 and remodeled in 1998. An addition was designed and built in 2004, providing additional office space and an expanded narthex with a baptistry. Besides the chapel itself, we have a Parish Center on campus with staff offices and group meeting spaces.