Most of us don’t question where we’ll lay our heads at night. Home is home. But for the people that Father Mauro and his colleague Edgar serve, that just simply isn’t the case.
For the past 130 years, the priests from Father Mauro’s congregation have provided shelters and advocacy for victims of human trafficking, displaced people, and others in desperate need – the most marginalized among us.
For them, faith is action. “It’s not just singing,” said Father Mauro. “It’s living with people and working with people.”
Over the past few months, this dynamic duo have been leading the construction process on the congregation’s 33rd shelter. They’re almost ready to open – they just need to check off a few more key things off their list.
One of those things is cleaning supplies. It may seem a little boring, but actually, it’s a key part to what they do there.
Father Mauro and Edgar think a lot about creating a dignified place for the people they shelter, who have been through so much. They deserve a nice, clean space. Somewhere they can feel valued and respected.
So for Day 153, we got the shelter enough cleaning supplies to welcome the first group of people under their roof, and then some!
Their vision for those they serve at the shelter? “They will have protection,” said Father Mauro. “They’ll have access to resources. They’ll be welcomed by the community. And they will heal.”