House
The Serenelli house at 725 Delhi Ave is the first house of the Serenelli Project. Until we have a monastic community form at the house, it serves as the operational and community headquarters of the Serenelli Project.
It was purchased on May 6th, 2022, the anniversary of the death of Alessandro Serenelli (1970) and Luigi Goretti (1900), father of St. Maria Goretti.
The dedicated volunteers of Serenelli Project spent many workdays from August 2022 to June 2024 to transform the house and grounds to fit the monastic vision; a house designed around community life with focus being fully on God.
First to be finished was the house chapel of St. Maria Goretti. The Archbishop of Cincinnati, Dennis Schnurr, came to bless the space in a Mass on June 17th, 2023, the feast of the Immaculate Heart of Mary. The chapel was designed by liturgical designer Rolf Rohn, who also donated the artwork and altar. Our full-size organ and church lights were pulled from St. Louis Church in downtown Cincinnati when it was closed. The altar wall is done in venetian plaster as a gift from Scott Fritz.The altar crucifix and bells were donated by Fr. Jim Meade, childhood resident of Sedamsville and last pastor of Our Lady of Perpetual Help when it closed. They were original to the church.
The portrait of St. Maria Goretti hangs prominently on the chimney wall overlooking the chapel in her honor. On one side of her is Our Lady of Fatima and on the other St. Joseph. On the opposite wall hang the twin pictures of the Sacred Heart of Jesus and Immaculate Heart of Mary. A picture of Alessandro Serenelli hangs on the back wall by the door. As he was the gardener and door keeper of the monastery where he resided, he also acts spiritually as our doorkeeper of the Serenelli house.
Perhaps the most touching feature of the room is the ceiling. Artist Nancy-Carolyn Smith from Angelico Project painted the ceiling the signature Serenelli maroon and added the trail of lilies. There are 16 in all. The one over the altar represents Our Lord’s forgiveness from the cross. St. Maria looked to the crucifix when they asked her if she forgave her attacker, and drawing strength from Jesus, she forgave Alessandro from her heart and wished that he would be in heaven with her. The next 14 lilies represent Maria’s forgiveness of Alessandro, which he experienced while in prison in a vision where she handed him 14 lilies for each stab wound he had given her. The last one ending at the door represents her mom, Assunta Goretti’s, forgiveness of Alessandro. Five years after his release, a priest who knew of his conversion and his desire for reconciliation arranged a meeting between Alessandro and Assunta on Christmas Eve. Standing at her door, he asked for her forgiveness. Assunta willingly gave her forgiveness, and they attended Christmas Eve Mass, receiving communion kneeling together. The trail of lilies not only represents these three acts of forgiveness. They also remind us that the mercy of God given on the cross is meant to be lived out in our own lives and taken from the chapel out into the hurting world.
After the blessing of the chapel, the work commenced to finish the rest of the house by the next summer. Once again, volunteers, donors, and corporate partners stepped up to the task at hand, led by the exceptional Mike O’Donnell as the project manager. The timeline to finish the house was tight. It was seemingly bit arbitrary, too, except that the Serenelli Project could not seriously entertain the prospective resident without a livable space. Mike went above and beyond, not only giving his own skill and labor, but rallying friends, family, Knights of Columbus, and many other volunteers to help complete the project. Later, the timeline proved providential. After Mike finished installing a new fence in front of the house, the Lord unexpectedly called him back to Himself. There were a few touches left to go, a reminder that this work is does not belong to just one man. The Serenelli Project community is eternally grateful to Mike and his wife Mary Sue O’Donnell, who often assisted him at the house and made sure that the monastic vision was kept true.
The house is designed for monastic community life. There are three bedrooms which are simple and hospitable: a bed, side table, desk, chair, dresser, and closet. There are no TVs in the house. Once residents occupy it, there will be no internet. The community room in the lower floor serves as the chapter room, community meeting space, library, study, and dining room. The back yard features four raised garden beds for vegetable gardens.
