ABOUT US
The Catholic Worker Movement
The Catholic Worker Movement, founded by Dorothy Day and Peter Maurin in 1933, is grounded in a firm belief in the God-given dignity of every person.
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Today there are over 204 Catholic Worker communities around the world. There are 17 in the United States. Every Catholic Worker community remains committed to nonviolence, voluntary poverty, prayer, and hospitality for the homeless, exiled, hungry, and forsaken. Catholic Workers continue to protest injustice, war, racism, and violence in all forms.
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The aim of the Catholic Worker movement is to live in accordance with the justice and charity of Jesus Christ. Our sources are the Hebrew and Greek Scriptures as handed down in the teachings of the Roman Catholic Church as well as the writings of Dorothy Day and Peter Maurin.
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This aim requires us to begin living in a different way.
We recall the words of our founder, Dorothy Day who said,
"The greatest challenge of the day is: how to bring about a revolution of the heart: a revolution that starts with each one of us.”
and follow the example of our founder, Peter Maurin who wanted to build a society “where it is easier for people to be good”.
Sister Documentary
You can watch this wonderful documentary about our community founder. It's called Sister: The Life Ministry of Sister Catherine Walsh, by the Joshua Tree Productions:
Sr. Catherine Walsh
Sr. Juliana Beck
Our Community
The Catholic Worker of Akron began in 1998 after a group of St. Bernard’s parishioners' prayerful discernment resulted in the founding of a hospitality house for homeless men, women, and children. Now, the house offers hospitality to families and women. The Murray Peace House is also used for tutoring and community gatherings.
In two years, another house was opened: Casa Maria Jose, offering outreach to the Hispanic Community.
In 2001, the Catholic Worker of Akron bought a third house, Dorothy Day House, established as a house in which full-time volunteers live.
The Peter Maurin Center is our drop-in center offering food, coffee, fellowship and prayer to all in South Akron.
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Currently, our community includes many families, five live-in volunteers, a board of directors, and many volunteers who live elsewhere. Since its inception, the Catholic Worker of Akron has been blessed with hundreds of guests who have become family to us. Both the Catholic Worker of Akron and the Peter Maurin Center are 501(c)(3) organizations.
Make a donation today!
