- 6107 N. Kenmore Ave, Ste. 5, Chicago IL 60660
- 812.923.6356
- aafsap@aol.com
Our history of helping those in need dates back to 1898, when the friars of the Basilica of St. Anthony in Padua, Italy instituted the first charitable organization to distribute bread, firewood and clothing to the poor.
Gradually, a new idea of charity began to evolve among the friars, a charity aimed at relieving victims of natural disasters or victims of social and political crises. Immediate, simple assistance was with time replaced by development projects, and national charitable projects gradually extended beyond Italian national borders.
Following our Christian beliefs, the Franciscan Friars are committed to working with the world’s most needy regardless of religion, race, ethnicity, or gender.
We exist to show a caring face to a hurting world. We believe that as Christians and Franciscans, we have a responsibility to reach out to these people and make a difference. Our emphasis is with those in greatest need – but we go far beyond providing just financial resources.
We focus on capacity building that helps those in need to become thriving, sustainable communities, and families. Our vision is to work with people in need to help them find a way to solve their dilemmas.
Charity Beyond National Borders
Every year the Franciscan Friars award grants to facilitate people’s development to the point where they are empowered to take care of themselves. To this end, we provide support to those religious brothers, sisters, and other nonprofit organizations that work with the poorest of the poor (domestically and worldwide) to meet their basic human needs.
We fund sustainable projects that provide children with adequate care and value-based education, youth with employment opportunities, and women with means to gain social and economic empowerment; and work closely together with other organizations in order to build a just, hopeful, and sustainable society.
You have our assurance that projects are thoroughly vetted before funding approval. We exercise due diligence to ensure that grantees are in compliance with specific legal and regulatory rules.
Sr. Sofia Lee, of the Franciscan Missionary Sisters of Assisi, has been serving as the Director of Sacred Heart Retreat Center since 2017.
She arrived at the Center (located on fifteen acres of rugged land with lots of outcrops) armed with a strong desire to proclaim the word of God and commitment to providing much needed programs to indigent families living in the vast, mostly rural Diocese of Gallup, New Mexico.
Doing God’s work means helping them create new dreams and hopes for themselves and their families, culture and futures. (Click here to continue reading)
St. Anthony’s Charities – U.S.A. Our 2023 Projects
Provide potable water to students and nearby farm laborers and their families
KENYA - St. Theresa High School for Girls
Lessen the impact of severe drought by providing potable water to the school, the hospital, and neighboring communities
TANZANIA - St. Anthony of Padua Parish
Create a loving home for infants, children and adults with severe developmental disabilities
USA - St. Joseph Home Cincinnati, OH
Respond to the needs of many who don't have enough to eat due to poverty and illness, and the elderly who are often abandoned and homebound
PHILLIPINES - Angel's Home for Children
Work to foster lay formation and faith-based community volunteering
USA - Jerusalem Farm, Kansas City, MO
Give preschool children from disadvantaged area a chance for success in life
INDIA - St Mary's Primary School
Save lives by offering low cost or feww primary medical care to people who are ill or in recovery
VENEZUELA - María Auxiliadora Health Center
Help student-friars deepen their theological understanding as to be able to live and work as Franciscan friars in service to the Church
USA - Post-Novitiate Franciscan Formation, MD
Reduce child mortality by providing daily nutritious meals and clean drinking water
HAITI - St Raphael Nutrition Centre
Support the initial Formation of personal & spiritual development of student-Friars
USA - Franciscan Postulancy Program, IL
Empower immigrant Haitian women language and professional training to better integrate into Chilean society
CHILE - Woman, Learn, & Work Center
Help curb hunger by offering foodstuffs to the elderly and those in need due to illness, unemployment and severe poverty
ITALY - Association Volunteers for Hope
Share St Anthony's Gospel of Hope with our bothers & sisters
INDIA - St Maximilian Kolbe Province
Ensure that indigent Native Americans in need don't go hungry by providing food, temporary lodging and religious guidance
USA - Sacred Heart Retreat Center, NM
Save the lives of young children who suffer from severe malnutrition and from typhus and malaria
CAMEROON - St Joseph Nursery & Primary School
Support Franciscan Friars working around the world to empower others
USA - St Bonaventure Solidarity Fund, IL
TURKEY & SYRIA - Emergency Relief Aid
