Help the Cincinnati Oratory

To Form
Young Men
Into Saints

In 1852, Old Saint Mary’s Parish met the needs of its expanding congregation by founding a Boys School.
Now, you may have a unique opportunity to help the Oratory continue that mission at no cost to yourself.

Join The Ambassador Program

By recruiting others to donate to the school for boys formation fund, you can help support a great cause and be incentivized for doing so!

About the Credit

The state of Ohio has a tax credit in place for Scholarship Granting Organizations (SGOs), which are non-profits who help eligible students attend a qualified private school. The Oratory School for Boys has recently become a participating school in a non-profit organization called OCEN, which qualifies as an SGO. This means that your donation towards the Oratory School for Boys through OCEN allows you to receive a dollar-for-dollar reduction in your state taxes – up to $750 per individual taxpayer and $1,500 for married couples filing jointly.

How to Donate

Friends of the Oratory who wish to help us realize the goal of starting a school now have a cost-free way to make a significant contribution to the vision.

Here’s how it works:

  1. Go to OHIOCEN.ORG/SGO/DONATE to contribute.
  2. Select CREATE ACCOUNT and create an account.
  3. Select the Donate Now button. Be sure to select “Oratory School for Boys” from the drop menu so that your entire contribution will be designated for our school.
    1. If you are filing jointly and want the entire $1,500 deduction YOU MUST add your spouse’s information on the donation page.
  4. Go to the donor portal to fetch the receipt. This is the receipt you will use to claim your credit when you file your state taxes. Note: it is required to include this receipt along with your forms when filing taxes to receive the Ohio tax credit.
  5. For donations up to $750, you will receive a dollar-for-dollar state tax credit  for gifts made during that tax year.
  6. Thanks to a recent change in state law, gifts made prior to April 15 of the subsequent year may also be credited to the previous year’s tax liability. So, you can make a gift in April 2025 and credit it toward your 2024 taxes. You will receive 100% of your contribution back, up to $750 for individuals or $1500 for couples, when you file your taxes for the year. The students at our school receive the benefit of your gift at essentially no cost to you.
  7. Since the tax credit is granted per individual taxpayer, married couples filing jointly may receive up to $1,500 in credit if both names are included on the gift. You may contribute more than $750, but the credit is capped at $750 per taxpayer. Gifts beyond the cap may be claimed as a typical deduction.
  8. Once a gift is claimed as a state tax credit, it is not eligible to be claimed as a federal deduction if the taxpayer is itemizing. Source: https://ohiocen.org/ocen-sgo/

Frequently
Asked Questions

Your donation can be claimed when you file your Ohio taxes. Gifts made through April 15th can be retroactively applied to the previous year’s taxes. The credit is a dollar-to-dollar reduction in your state tax liability up to $750 per taxpayer. A married couple filing jointly can claim a credit of up to $1500. To receive the full tax credit, you must have an Ohio tax liability equal to or greater than the amount of the credit.

Note: it is required to include this receipt along with your forms when filing taxes to receive the Ohio tax credit.

While there is no donation deadline, as OCEN accepts donations year-round, in order to claim the credit on your 2024 tax filing it is necessary to donate before you file your taxes.

Anyone whose taxable income is over $40,636 owes a minimum of $750.00 in state tax. A $750 donation to an SGO would reduce this amount to $0.00. That means $750 of tax money to a scholarship to help a student receive a quality Christian education and $0.00 remains for the state. You can use the chart below from Ohio Department of Taxation to determine your tax liability if you know your Ohio Taxable Income amount.

You can use the chart below from Ohio Department of Taxation to determine your tax liability if you know your Ohio Taxable Income amount.

Taxable state income can be found on page 2 of your state income tax return (Ohio IT 1040) line 13. A review of last year’s tax payments will help determine your maximum gift amount.

For taxable years beginning in 2024:

Ohio Taxable Income Tax Calculation
$0-$26,050 0.000%
$26,051 – $100,000 $360.69 + 2.75% of excess over $26,050
$100,000+ $2,394.32 + 3.50% of excess over $100,000

Couples with combined salaries over $67,636 should qualify for $1500 in tax liability.

Individuals with salaries over $40,363 should qualify for $750 in tax liability.

Source: https://ohiocen.org/ocen-sgo/

The Oratory School for Boys is one of the many schools in coalition with the Ohio Christian Education Network. While the coalition is made up of dozens of Catholic and Evangelical Schools, the money you donate will be set aside for the Cincinnati Oratory Boys’ School specifically.

If the vision of the Oratory School for Boys is not realized, your donation will eventually be assigned to another Catholic school that is part of the Ohio Christian Education Network.

St. Philip Neri saves a young man from drowning

History

The history of St. Mary’s boys school can nearly be traced back to the very roots of Cincinnati itself. In February of 1808 a faithful Catholic layman, Jacob Dittoe, petitioned Bishop Carroll of Baltimore via letter to send priests to their little Ohio settlement of Catholic families. Hardly being able to refuse so devout a request, Bishop Carroll sent Father Edward Fenwick, O.P. to serve the spiritual needs of this little flock. Fenwick, later titled the ‘Apostle of Ohio’, would go on to become the first Bishop of Cincinnati.

As Cincinnati continued to grow and with it the amount of Catholic faithful, Holy Trinity Church was erected in 1834 on Fifth Street in West End, and shortly after a school for boys in 1839. These two apostolates would serve as the forerunners of St. Mary’s Church, which would go on to be dedicated in July of 1842. At this time, Bishop John Baptist Purcell had succeeded Bishop Fenwick. In the founding year of St. Mary’s Parish, 1840, Bishop John Baptist Purcell appointed Father Clemens Hammer as her first pastor.

In 1852, St. Mary’s School for Boys, which had grown out of the original school affiliated with Holy Trinity Church, was accepted by the Society of Mary. Brother Maximin Zehler, a native Frenchman and one of the original Marianists sent to America from Europe, became the first Director of St. Mary’s School in Cincinnati, Ohio.

The school continued to be run by the Society of Mary until 1939, when the Brothers left St. Mary School and the students were transferred to a school run by the Sisters of Notre Dame.

It is here that the Oratory School for Boys hopes to continue the legacy. Having been under the tutelage of the Oratorians of St. Philip Neri since 2017, but in no wise renouncing the history of Old St. Mary’s Church, the Oratorians hope to revive the school for boys in order to form the young men of Cincinnati into future saints.

St Philip Neri's heart enlarged by Christ's love.

Timeline

  • A photograph of Bishop Edward Fenwick, the first bishop of Cincinnati

    1808

    Father Edward Fenwick arrives in Ohio.

  • 1822

    Father Fenwick is consecrated first Bishop of Cincinnati on Sunday, January 13, 1822.

  • A photograph of Bishop Purcell, the second bishop of Cincinnati

    1833

    Bishop John Baptist Purcell succeeds Bishop Fenwick.

  • Father Clement Hammer, the first pastor of Old Saint Marys

    1840

    Fr. Clemens Hammer appointed founding pastor of Saint Mary Parish. 

  • Photo of Old Saint Marys Church in CIncinnati Ohio

    1842

    Saint Mary Church is dedicated to God on July the 3rd, 1842 under the title of the Annunciation.

  • Brother Maximin Zehler, the first director of St. Mary's School

    1852

    St. Mary’s School for Boys is started with Brother Maximin Zehler assigned as director.

  • The old school building in Over-The-Rhine

    1939

    The Brothers close the school, but the buildings remain, carrying the names “Boys School” and “Brothers House.”

  • The Crest of the Cincinnati Oratory

    2017

    The Cincinnati Oratory is formed and begins serving Old St. Mary’s Church with hopes to continue legacy of the school for boys.

A holy monk telling St. Philip Neri that he is called to be a missionary in his own town.

WHERE IS YOUR Indies?

While living in Rome, St. Philip Neri longed to become a missionary to the Indies. St. Philip consulted a holy monk, and after days of prayer and discernment the monk told the saint: ‘Rome is your Indies’.

The Indies of the Cincinnati Oratory, the City of Cincinnati, also contains a large spiritual crop ready for harvest. Will you help the Cincinnati Oratory continue its mission there?

The Cincinnati Oratory
1204 Clay St.
Cincinnati, OH 45202