About Us | Alexian Brothers Bonaventure House

Alexian Brothers Bonaventure House and The Harbor carry out the healing mission of the Catholic Church as an Alexian Brothers ministries by identifying and developing effective responses to the health and housing needs of those we are called to serve.

The Alexian Brothers tradition: Taking their name from Saint Alexius, the son of a wealthy Roman senator, who gave up a life of luxury to serve the poor, the Congregation of Alexian Brothers received official status by papal decree in 1458. Their ministry to the United States began in 1866, when Brother Bonaventure Thelen, C.F.A., arrived in New York from Germany. He later founded a hospital in a wood frame house in Chicago where he carried in his arms the hospital's first patient on June 12, 1866. That summer, Alexian Brothers in Chicago cared for victims of a cholera epidemic. They soon earned a reputation for compassion and professional expertise, a reputation that endures to this day.

The work of Alexian Brothers AIDS Ministry is generously supported by the following:

AIDS Foundation of Chicago
Alexian Brothers of America
Blowitz-Ridgeway Foundation
Blue Cross Blue Shield
City of Chicago, Department of Public Health
Chicago House – CDC Prevention
DIFFA Chicago
The Grace Bersted Foundation
Helen Brach Foundation
Illinois Department of Human Services / Division of Alcoholism and Substance Abuse
Illinois Department of Public Health
MAC AIDS Fund
Polk Bros. Foundation
Trustmark
U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD)
United Way of Lake County