Members of Saint John Vianney Parish stay connected with parish members who are not able to celebrate Mass together due to illness or physical / mental incapacities.
Hospital or home visits, phone calls and respite care help homebound members know they are not forgotten. Homebound ministers have the privilege of taking our Lord, present in the Eucharist to homebound members of our church, letting them know they are loved and being prayed for. At Saint John Vianney Parish, nearly 40 homebound ministers take Eucharist each weekend to parishioners in the area.
The ministry was started in the 1990s by parishioner Kathy Knudten and continues today.
If you know a parishioner who is unable to attend Mass and would like to have Communion, or you would like to become a Homebound Minister, contact Helen Fliss 262-860-0945.
If you know someone who is homebound and is not able to attend Mass, contact Maria Prado 414-769-3504 with their name, address and phone number.
A Missalette and a homebound Newsletter will be sent to their home free of charge.
Training is provided by the parish in conjunction with the Archdiocese of Milwaukee. After training, Homebound ministers receive a prayer book and a pyx. The pyx is used to carry the Eucharist. The prayer book provides a format to follow.
All the details of “how and when” are explained during training. The person you are visiting will be expecting you; visits include opportunities to share fellowship and friendship.
Ministers of the Eucharist must have a deep faith and believe in the real presence of Christ in the Eucharist. Ministers are practicing Catholics in good standing with the Church.
The statue of Jesus with the Eucharist, entitled Sharing the Bread of Life, located in the Blessed Sacrament Chapel was designed by SJV parishioner Bernie Gruenke. It is a memorial and thanksgiving to those parishioners who take the Eucharist to the sick and homebound.
