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The History
of Saint John’s Hospice
with
The Little Brothers Of the Good Shepherd
In the early 1960s, Joseph O’Neill
visited his brother, Father (later Monsignor) Anthony J. O’Neill,
pastor of Saint John the Evangelist parish on 13th Street below
Market Street in Philadelphia.
The city’s “skid row” was within the parish
boundaries and Joseph was saddened by the many “street people” he
saw. These were hungry men who
needed assistance. He asked his
brother if the church could do something to help these poor people. Father O’Neill said that many
did come to the church for food but perhaps a more concerted effort could be
made.
And so it was that sandwiches and shelter
became available to the poor and homeless at Saint John’s on a regular
basis. Very soon, however, making
sandwiches became a full time endeavor for the staff and they were
overwhelmed by the sheer numbers of people seeking assistance. Father O’Neill decided that
better service must be offered to the transient and resident men of
“skid row” if progress in providing humane assistance was to be
made. As in any major
undertaking, plans had to be made.
A building accessible to the poor and homeless and people to run the
operation that were both compassionate and efficient were initial
requirements.
Monsignor O’Neill took a brief vacation
and visited his brother in New Orleans.
He accompanied Joseph, who had clothing to contribute, to the Ozman Inn, a homeless shelter operated by the Little
Brothers of the Good Shepherd. It
may be left to the reader if the visit was by chance or the hand of God. But after seeing the operation
Monsignor O’Neill knew the Little Brothers of the Good Shepherd would
be part of his plan.
On September 17th, 1962, Most
Reverend John J. Krol, Archbishop of Philadelphia granted Monsignor
O’Neill permission to purchase the building at 1221 Race Street. Very Reverend Brother Mathias Barrett,
Founder of the Little Brothers of the Good Shepherd, was asked to assign
Brothers to operate a shelter.
On Saturday, September 7th, 1963,
with the blessing of the Archbishop, Saint John’s Hospice started
operations. Brother Mathias
appointed Brother John Hurley as the first Program Director, with Brother
Ernest and Brother Coleman assisting.
An interesting sidelight of Brother John being the first director is
that the Hospice became known to “street people” as “Father
John’s”.
Imagine
for a moment the task confronting Brothers John, Ernest, and Coleman. Their needs were many, some would say
overwhelming, but these dedicated men had an unshakeable faith that God would
provide.
In the early years, the clientele of the
Hospice was composed of elderly men.
Many were alcoholics, others simply down on their luck. These men came to Saint John’s
for a hot meal, clothing and shelter which were given with dignity and
compassion. Because of this,
Saint John’s became, and still is, the melting pot of center
city’s homeless population and the place where “Charity
Unlimited”, the Little Brothers’ motto, was practiced 24 hours a
day.
The Little Brothers who ministered at Saint
John’s resided in the building next door. Being so close meant being constantly
working or being on-call. For
these first 23 years, the Brothers spent their time living and breathing
Saint John’s Hospice. A
small core of live-in volunteers were fed and clothed for their efforts in
assisting the Brothers.
In 1986, Saint John’s became a part of
Catholic Social Services of the Archdiocese of Philadelphia. This included the addition of several
paid lay staff. The Brothers
continued their long hours of service and additional lay staff were hired to
reduce the Brothers’ hours to a more manageable level. Many of the new employees were former
resident.
In 1994, the Brothers found new living quarters
in a recently vacated convent. This
made the former residence available for a longtime dream to be
realized—and in December 1995 the Good Shepherd Program for medically
needy homeless men, including those with HIV/AIDS, opened its doors. Cardinal Bevilacqua
with Mayor Rendell in attendance blessed this new effort to provide physical
and spiritual comfort to these afflicted.
Saint John’s Hospice today continues to
operate in line with the high standards and good works of the Little Brothers
of the Good Shepherd. It is our
pledge to continue to maintain these high standards and to seek new ways to
assist those we serve to return to the mainstream of society as productive
citizens. The Little Brothers of
the Good Shepherd have left Philadelphia but their legacy lives on as we
emulate their compassion and dedication.
by Joe Orlando,
Volunteer
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