Br. Marcel Groth, OFM

Br. Marcel Groth, OFM, 91, passed away Nov. 9, 2024, at St. John the Baptist Friary in Cincinnati, Ohio, where he had been under hospice care. He was a professed Franciscan friar for 61 years. The wake will take place at 9 a.m. on Saturday, Nov. 16, followed by the Funeral Mass at 10 a.m. at St. Clement Church, 4536 Vine Street, Cincinnati, OH 45217. Burial will follow at 11 a.m. at St. Mary Cemetery, 701 E. Ross Ave, Cincinnati, OH 45217. The Mass will be livestreamed on the parish’s website. Br. Marcel was born Feb. 13, 1933, in Detroit, Michigan, to Elmer and Marcella (née Brinkman). He attended grade school at the Hall of the Divine Child in Monroe, Michigan, and high school at St. Anthony in Detroit. He attended Sacred Heart Seminary in Detroit for one year, then the University of Detroit. He served in the U.S. Army in Japan as a private first class from 1955 to 1957. Br. Marcel’s initial formation included studies at Duns Scotus College in Southfield, Michigan; St. Anthony Friary in Cincinnati; and the Brothers’ School at Holy Family in Oldenburg, Indiana. He was received into the Order of Friars Minor at St. Anthony Friary on Aug. 15, 1962, where he professed first vows on Aug. 16, 1963. He made solemn profession at Duns Scotus College on Aug. 16, 1966. His first assignment was as general assistant at Leonard College in Centerville, Ohio, from 1966 to 1972, with a short assignment in between at St. Francis Seraph in Cincinnati. Br. Marcel served in the same position at San Diego Friary in Jemez Pablo, New Mexico, from 1972 to 1973; St. Francis in Lumberton, New Mexico, from 1973 to 1974; and St. Francis Seminary in Cincinnati, from 1974 to 1981. Br. Marcel went on to minister on the staff of Bishop Luers High School in Fort Wayne, Indiana, from 1981 to 1984. From 1984 to 1996, he was on the staff and served as vicar at St. Francis Center in Cincinnati. From there, Br. Marcel served as local minister at Sacred Heart Friary in Peoria, Illinois, from 1996 to 1998, before returning to minister in the same role at St. John the Baptist Friary in Cincinnati from 1998 to 2000. He served as assistant at St. Francis Retreat House in Easton, Pennsylvania from 2000 to 2008, before spending the following year providing fraternal assistance at Transfiguration Friary in Southfield, Michigan. Since 2011, he had served in fraternal ministry at St. Clement Friary in Cincinnati. Until late 2023, Br. Marcel also filled in when needed as the receptionist at the former provincial offices of legacy St. John the Baptist Province in Cincinnati. He had recently moved to St. John the Baptist Friary for increased care. Br. Marcel was predeceased by his parents. He is survived by his sister Dyann Leslie. May he rest in peace.