We are the Catholic “presence” in the Near Westside of the inner city of Syracuse. St. Lucy’s no longer serves a large Catholic population, but rather an ethnically diverse population in a changing and impoverished neighborhood. As a parish community, St. Lucy’s reaches out daily to share in the lives of many people struggling with the conditions of their poverty. Its mission statement begins: “St Lucy’s is a welcoming community open to the message of the poor.”

St. Lucy’s is a community of intense ministry. This call to ministry is born out of the parish’s surroundings and the economically challenged neighborhood of the Near-Westside. As a result, St. Lucy’s is a home to over forty ministries that are facilitated by a member of the community, ten ministries that reside on parish grounds and ten additional ministries or groups that St. Lucy’s associates with and/or supports. In these ministries, the Gospel stories and message come alive. What the writer of the fourth Gospel proclaims about Jesus can also be attributed to the ministerial experiences in St. Lucy’s parish, “The Word became flesh and dwells among us. . . ” Ministry is alive and flourishing at St. Lucy’s.