Named after St. Vincent de Paul, it is sponsored by the Sisters of Charity of Cincinnati as a member of the Cristo Rey Network of work-study schools.

DePaul Cristo Rey is located one block south of Cincinnati State Technical and Community College at the former German-language Concordia Evangelical Lutheran Church (German: Concordia Evangelisch-Lutherisch Kirche),[3] which disbanded on August 23, 2009, a year after closing its elementary school.

[4] In November 2009, the Sisters of Charity of Cincinnati purchased the building and grounds with the intention of establishing a Cristo Rey school.

[7] Following the Cristo Rey model, DePaul Cristo Rey's Corporate Work Study Program (CWSP) partners with over 90 local businesses and community organizations in a one-of-a-kind program in Greater Cincinnati.

Students go to school four days a week and work one day at a business or organization helping to finance their own private, college-prep high school education as they grow professionally and personally working side-by-side with adults in workplaces around the region.