News of the Diocese: Joseph & Mary’s Home celebrates patronal feast day with Mass, lunch

Tuesday, March 24, 2026

Tags: Joseph & Mary's Home , Outreach

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Joseph & Mary’s Home supporters came together on March 19 to celebrate the Feast of St. Joseph, foster father of Jesus and husband of Mary. Mass was celebrated in the Holy Family Chapel at fellow Sisters of Charity Health System ministry Regina Health Center. Deacon Mark Yantek, executive director of Regina Health Center, delivered the homily. “Just like St. Joseph said yes to doing God’s will, the Sisters of Charity of St. Augustine said yes to God when they established Joseph & Mary’s Home,” he said. “They knew God was calling them to fulfill a need.”

The Catholic Diocese of Cleveland's was there to cover the Mass and luncheon. Following is the text of the article that appears on the Diocese website. The full article, including photos, is also available by clicking here.

Joseph & Mary’s Home celebrates patronal feast day with Mass, lunch

Very little is known about St. Joseph, the spouse of Mary and the earthly father of Jesus. Yet he filled an important role in their lives, said Deacon Mark Yantek.

“Joseph was always willing to do what God asked,” he said in the homily at a Mass celebrating the patronal feast of Joseph & Mary’s Home, a ministry serving medically fragile men and women experiencing homelessness in Cleveland.

Regina Health Center in Richfield, where Deacon Yantek is executive director, hosted the Mass in Holy Family Chapel on March 19 for the leaders, board members and others who assist with ministry.

(See photo gallery above.)

Joseph & Mary’s Home and Regina Health are among the ministries of the Sisters of Charity of St. Augustine, who are celebrating 175 years of service in the Diocese of Cleveland.

Deacon Yantek said some of the sisters identified a need more than 25 years ago and took a leap of faith to fill it. “It’s all about doing what God asks us to do. Joseph had a role to play. All he had to do was say ‘yes.’” And he did, marrying Mary and providing a stable home life for her and Jesus.

“He told the Lord to use him as his tool,” Deacon Yantek said, explaining the sisters did something similar when they opened Joseph’s Home. They saw a need, knew what God was asking them to do and they did it, he said. Later, the ministry expanded to include women.

He credited the CSA “Dream Team,” which worked to identify areas of need and to find ways to help. Sister Ruth Ann Patrick, CSA was a social worker at St. Vincent Charity Hospital, located near Joseph & Mary’s Home. She suggested the ministry after seeing that some men discharged from the hospital were homeless and had nowhere to go as they continued their recovery. Joseph’s Home provided housing, care and resources to help them get their lives back on track. Later, the ministry expanded to include women.

Sister Judith Ann Karam, CSA congregational leader, welcomed guests to the liturgy, which was celebrated by Father Jamie Mazanec, a retired diocesan priest who most recently was senior parochial vicar at St. Columbkille Parish in Parma. Music was led by Miguel Chavez, senior vice president of mission and ministry for the Sisters of Charity Health System and secretary of Joseph & Mary’s Home, and his brother, P.J. Chavez.

Among the attendees were Sister Joan Gallagher, CSA who was the first director of Joseph’s Home, and Anna Stormer, who began her tenure as executive director of Joseph & Mary’s Home earlier this month.

“Finding a need and filling it is what the sisters have done since arriving here from France in 1851,” Deacon Yantek said. He also credited the board members and others who have supported the ministry. “As they always say, ‘We never did it alone,’” he added.