St. Gertrude Parish has been served by Dominican Friars from the Province of St. Joseph since it was established in 1944. In addition, St. Gertrude Priory has been the site of the Novitiate for the Dominican Province of St. Joseph (eastern United States) since 1984. St. Gertrude School has been staffed by the Dominican Sisters of St. Cecilia (Nashville) since it was founded in 1934.

The Order of Preachers, also known as the Dominican Order, was founded by St. Dominic de Guzman in 1216. As with all religious orders, Dominicans dedicate their lives to Jesus Christ and the service of the Catholic Church through the vows of poverty, chastity, and obedience. The mission confided to the Order by the Church is “preaching for the salvation of souls.” In order to better accomplish this mission, Dominican life is grounded in contemplative prayer and theological study.  
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While parts of Dominican life, including the habit and communal chanting of the Liturgy of the Hours, are drawn from earlier monastic traditions, the Order is committed to the work of evangelization, which includes strengthening the faith of those who believe, as well as preaching the Gospel through various means to the wider culture. The friars’ commitment to theological study enables them to effectively engage the intellectual difficulties that modern life presents. As a Dominican parish, St. Gertrude reflects many of these distinctively Dominican features in her parish life, with a view towards catechetical and intellectual formation, devout prayer and liturgy, fervent preaching, and a robust Catholic community life.

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The Friars

St. Gertrude Priory, which is attached to the parish, is home to a community of Dominican friars who live and pray together, led by their elected prior. The friars serve in a variety of ministries for St. Gertrude Church, the Archdiocese of Cincinnati, and the Dominican Province of St. Joseph, as well as the wider Dominican Order. The priory is also home to the Novitiate for the Province of St. Joseph.  The novitiate is the initial year of formation in the Dominican life where the primary focus is the spiritual formation of the brothers before they begin their formal theological studies at the Dominican House of Studies in Washington, D.C. 

The Dominicans currently in residence at St. Gertrude Priory are:  

Father J. Alobaidi, O.P., is a retired professor of Bible theology and languages (research assistant, University of Fribourg in Switzerland, Bible professor at The Pontifical Faculty of the Immaculate Conception and lecturer in Islamic Theology and Post Biblical Judaism, Washington D.C.). He is an instructor of novices.

Father John Corbett, O.P., born in 1951, is a native of Columbus, Ohio. He graduated from Providence College in 1973, was ordained a Dominican priest in 1980, and received the Doctorate in Sacred Theology from the University of Fribourg in Switzerland. He has taught moral theology at Providence College, The Josephinum in Columbus and the Dominican House of Studies in Washington, D.C. He is currently helping both in the Novitiate with spiritual direction and in the wider parish with Mass, preaching, and confessions.

Father Joachim Kenney, O.P. grew up around Dominicans at St. Louis Bertrand Parish in Louisville, KY, and joined the Order of Preachers soon after graduating from the University of Louisville. After his ordination in 2017, Father Joachim became the parochial vicar at St. Mary Parish in New Haven, CT, where he learned the ropes of being a priest from Father John Paul until December 2021. While in Connecticut, Father Joachim assisted with Masses and confessions for the Dominican nuns at Our Lady of Grace Monastery and had the opportunity to do part-time ministry at Quinnipiac University for three and a half years. Father Joachim is happy to be part of the St. Gertrude community, working to build the Church in Madeira and Indian Hill.

Father John Langlois, O.P. was elected the prior of St. Gertrude in 2020. Born in Berlin, NH, he entered the Dominican Order in 1985 and was ordained to the priesthood in 1991. He holds a doctorate in Church History, and has spent most of his priestly life teaching, both at Providence College and at the Dominican House of Studies in Washington, D.C. Immediately before coming to St. Gertrude, he served as President of the Pontifical Faculty at the Dominican House of Studies for seven years. 

Father Darren Pierre, O.P., grew up in the northeast part of Indiana. After attending Case Western Reserve University in Cleveland, he began graduate studies in theoretical physics at MIT in Cambridge, MA. At graduate school in Providence, RI, he met the Dominicans. He completed his novitiate at St. Gertrude Church in 1998 and was ordained in 2004. After serving briefly at St. Patrick Church in Columbus, OH, he returned to St. Gertrude in 2008 to serve as pastor of the parish and prior of the Dominican community. Beginning in 2010, he moved to New York City and served in the administration for the Dominican Province for 12 years. Father Darren returned to St. Gertrude in November 2022 and is very happy to be the serving as novice master at the St. Gertrude Priory.

Father Luke Mary VanBerkum, O.P., grew up outside of Detroit, MI. After graduating from the University of Notre Dame in 2016, he entered the Dominican novitiate at St. Gertrude Priory. He was ordained a priest in 2022 in Washington, D.C., and then spent a year finishing a licentiate in sacred theology and gaining some pastoral experience, especially with the Latino community. He is excited to be back in the Midwest and to serve as parochial vicar at St. Gertrude Church.

Father John Paul Walker, O.P. was raised in the suburbs of Chicago and is the pastor at St. Gertrude Church. He has a B.S. in chemistry from the University of Illinois and an M.S. in chemistry and environmental engineering from Johns Hopkins University. Immediately after his graduate studies, Father John Paul entered the Dominican order and was ordained a priest in 2002. During his 20 years of priesthood, Father John Paul has worked in college campus ministry, taught theology at Providence College, served as the director of Pastoral Formation at the Dominican House of Studies, served as pastor of St. Mary in New Haven, CT, worked with the pro-life movement, had experience in Catholic young adult (20s–30s) ministry, and more.