Pope Francis Center

Father Tim McCabe, the Executive Director of the Pope Francis Center, was the guest speaker at the Wednesday, Feb. 1, evening meeting of Rotary of Grosse Pointe at The War Memorial. He was welcomed by President Ted Everingham, left, and introduced by Programs Committee Co-Chair John Ellis, right.

In 1990, Saints Peter and Paul Jesuit Church in downtown Detroit opened its doors to those seeking refuge from a winter storm. Father McCabe said Father Hartigan put on a pot of coffee, set out some folding chairs and offered people a place to get warm. This commitment to ministry has continued for over two decades.

The Pope Francis Center (renamed in 2015) is a Jesuit ministry located at 438 St. Antoine Street in Detroit. With an $800,000 donation from the UAW-Ford Foundation in 2013, the facility is now equipped with a state-of-the-art kitchen and laundry facilities for the 150+ it serves on a daily basis. It also provides hot showers and access to doctors, dentists, lawyers, mental health professionals and housing providers through its free clinics. A subsequent $240,000 donation has allowed it to implement a nutritious food program.

Father McCabe believes it is very important to treat all homeless as human and to acknowledge them.

To learn more, visit www.popefranciscenter.org.

(Photo by John Minnis)