7:00 PM
Guild Meeting
Meeting, open to all. St. Mary of Victories Catholic Church, 744 S Third St, St. Louis
Generously hosted by Saint Mary of Victories, St. Louis, Missouri.
Catholic tradesmen serving our Church and our communityFree and reduced-cost repairs for neighbors in need, work for struggling parishes, and help for tradesmen's families in hard times.
Why Tradesmen Need a Guild
Tradesmen keep the water running, the lights on, and the roofs over our heads. For a family of limited means, a small independent tradesman is often the last one willing to answer the call.
Yet the men who carry others often carry their own burdens alone. Many run one-man shops with no employer health plan, no safety net, and no one to call when work slows or a crisis hits.
We have seen what a parish community can do. Before the Guild was formed, when one tradesman's family faced a medical emergency in his slowest month, fellow Catholics covered the bills within two weeks. The Guild exists to make that kind of help reliable and fair: hardship help for any tradesman's family in need, decided by need, rooted in Christ.
- Highest Suicide Rate
- The CDC identifies construction and extraction as the occupational group with the highest suicide rate in the nation.
- Second in Fatal Injury
- Construction and extraction ranks second in fatal workplace injury, with 12.6 deaths per 100,000 workers in 2024, nearly four times the rate across all occupations. This is the Bureau of Labor Statistics figure by occupation group, not by industry.
- Isolating Work
- Construction ranks among the industries with the highest rates of substance-use disorder, and research increasingly points to loneliness and lack of social support as serious concerns for the trades.
- No Safety Net
- Among the tradesmen we know, more than 90% have no employer-sponsored health insurance, and at least 20% have no health coverage at all.
Sources: CDC, suicide rates by occupational group; U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Census of Fatal Occupational Injuries, 2024. Health-coverage figures are from the Guild's own survey of tradesmen.
What the Guild Does
- Home Repairs
- Free and reduced-cost repairs for low-income, elderly, and disabled neighbors, and donated work for struggling parishes, chapels, schools, and shrines.
- Hardship Help
- Help with rent, utilities, medical bills, and funerals for tradesmen's families facing injury, illness, or loss, decided fairly by need through a committee with no ties to the family.
- Formation
- A monthly holy hour, talks on the dignity of work and Catholic social teaching, an annual retreat, and the St. Joseph the Worker procession each May. All are welcome.
- Training the Next Generation
- Mentoring and come-and-see visits for young people discerning the trades, and a public directory of practicing Catholic tradesmen who serve the Guild’s charity work.
“All these are skilled with their hands, each one an expert at his own work. Without them no city could be lived in. Yet they are not sought out for the council of the people… They do not sit on the judge’s bench… Nor are they found among the rulers. Yet they maintain the fabric of the world…”
Our Story
It began with one plumber, one van, and the Lord as his only companion. Years of small jobs in the basements of nearly invisible people brought him face to face with the working poor, not as customers but as children of God. When the bill came, he saw the anxiety in their faces. So he did what he could: a discount here, a free repair there.
One client he never forgot: an elderly woman in a wheelchair, alone on a fixed income in a weathered house on the backroads of Missouri. When he finished, she asked him to do more. She could not afford anyone else. She had no one else to ask. If not him, then who?
Then a friend from church, newly in business himself, began partnering with him. Then another Catholic tradesman joined. Then another. They prayed before each job, traded labor, and showed up when a brother was in need. A handful of men living their faith at work had become a guild.
In Their Words
“There’s something fitting about St. Joseph coming to the aid of St. Mary. The Guild has provided countless hours of logistical support, advice, hands-on help, and pro bono work, all while offering fair and competitive bids when professional services were needed. They have never treated us like just another project.”
Director, Saint Mary of Victories Catholic Church
“When I joined the Guild I was starting my shop to support my family. The Guild has helped me with finding the spiritual value in my work, mentoring me in business, and supporting my family in a time of need.”
Woodworker, sole proprietor
“Coming together with good and faithful Catholic business owners, tradesmen, fathers, mentors. It is what this society needs more of.”
Electrician, business owner
8%
Concrete Results at Saint Mary of Victories
Since the Guild began serving the parish, its operating costs are down 8% year over year, with countless hours of discounted and pro bono labor.
Getting Involved Is Simple
Come and See
A holy hour (third Thursday, 7:00 PM) or a Guild meeting (first Thursday, 7:00 PM) at Saint Mary of Victories. No commitment.
Meet the Crew
Talk trade, family, and faith with the volunteers. An officer will answer your questions about serving with the Guild.
Serve
Sign the Volunteer Covenant and give your first service day on a repair crew or a parish work day.
Supporting the Guild is just as simple: you give, Guild tradesmen serve, and a family is helped. See ways to give.
How to Help
Give
Gifts fund repairs for neighbors in need, parish work days, hardship help for tradesmen's families, decided by need, and training for young people entering the trades.
Volunteer
Catholic men and women, tradesmen or not: join a repair crew or a parish work day. No dues, no fees. Bring your skills, or your willingness to haul and clean up.
Find a Catholic Tradesman
Our directory lists practicing Catholic tradesmen who have signed the Guild's Ethical Standards and serve on its charity jobs. Find one by trade and area.
The Guild does not employ or guarantee tradesmen. You hire them directly.
Coming Up
7:00 PM
Guild Holy Hour
Holy hour, open to all. St. Mary of Victories Catholic Church, 744 S Third St, St. Louis
7:00 PM
Guild Meeting
Meeting, open to all. St. Mary of Victories Catholic Church, 744 S Third St, St. Louis
From the Guild
A website for the Guild
Why the Guild now has a public directory, a way to ask for help, and a place to keep members informed.
Why a guild, and not just a business network
The Church asked for worker guilds to be restored. Here is what that means for a plumber in St. Louis.
_-_exterior.jpg){kind=link}
Where We Meet
Saint Mary of Victories Catholic Church
744 S Third St
St. Louis, Missouri 63102
The Guild meets the first Thursday of every month at 7:00 PM, and keeps a holy hour the third Thursday at 7:00 PM, unless the events page says otherwise.