Our 2024 version of the 12 Days of Christmas began with our annual pre-Thanksgiving delivery of holiday food — turkeys with all the trimming and traditional accompaniments — to St. Francis Inn in the Kensington section of Philadelphia (2439 Kensington Ave.). This year’s donation was made in fond memory of the ministry’s Sister Leslie, who passed away in October 2024.
Sister Leslie was a wonderful, kind and selfless human being. She always gave us the warmest of greetings and made us feel very welcomed during our annual visit during the holidays. In the group photo taken outside St. Frances, Rob Baer is holding up a photo of Sister Leslie.
St. Francis Inn is a Franciscan, Eucharistic community mission called to compassionately care for the poor and homeless of Philadelphia. Formed in the spirit of the Gospel and inspired by the life and compassion of Francis and Clare of Assisi, the center focuses to meet the immediate daily human needs of the people they serve with food, season-appropriate clothing and hospitality.
Furthermore, St. Francis Inn strives year-round to empower persons to break the cycle of homelessness and poverty and address structural injustices. We seek to build relationships with those whom we serve by respecting their human dignity, by helping them to restore hope in their lives, and by living simply among them.
