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St. Rita Peace Award Honors House of Grace The National Shrine of St. Rita of Cascia in South
Philadelphia remembers her legacy as a Peacemaker by presenting its annual
Peace Award to people who “we believe model the ideals of Saint Rita, peacemaker,
healer, advocate of reconciliation and peace. They display a commitment to
justice and peace, advocacy for the poor and vulnerable, family solidarity
and a witness to hope. In some way they also have displayed a witness to
personal forgiveness.” House of Grace Catholic Worker is the 2010 recipient of
the award. St. Rita, born in the tiny hamlet of Roccaporena, Italy in 1381,
lost a husband and two sons to violent rivalries and vendettas, a young widow
with an immense capacity to forgive. She eventually found a lasting home with
the Augustinian Sisters. Her singular suffering engendered a love and mercy
we seek to honor 600 years later. House of Grace co-founders, Mary Beth Appel and Johanna
Berrigan emphatically insist the award embraces a multitude of people who
have walked with them, now approaching 20 years; human dramas no one could
have imagined. And the beat goes on. Space precludes a full litany of their
work, so some haphazard high-lights. Two men crucial to their birth were Bob
Simpson and Don Remmey. Chris Schweizer was there to help. Kensington Avenue near Lehigh Avenue is the venue. I
think of the block where the Free Health clinic they administer is located,
just doors from St. Francis Inn and a block from the Last Stop, as an oasis
of compassion for hard-pressed, embattled people, “the poor you always have
with you.” Compassionate treatment by highly qualified health professionals,
no insurance required, flows daily. The human drama and struggles addressed
there are a litany of hope, and sometimes sorrows and wounds beyond
treatment, other than prayer. The ebb and flow at times has a gospel feel of
pleas for healing and a realistic limited capacity, far from eradicating all
the pain. Sylvia Metzler and Katie Huynh, among many, have been intrepid
volunteers. In the midst of all these folks are Jimmy and Jummell, their two
sons, who are flourishing. There is a House of Hospitality providing long term
housing for five persons from around the globe, Iraq, Darfur, Latin America,
with emphasis on persons requiring medical treatment. The past two years
Peter Pedemonti managed the house, and the plight of immigrants he
encountered providing hospitality has moved him to assume a leading role in
the New Sanctuary Movement [see John Ennis’ article]. The quality of long
term volunteers the House has attracted speaks to the charisma of the
leaders. Wonderful, faith-based people these past four years, Peter, Lauren
Brown, Sue Grubb, Bruce Miller, with manifold gifts. Space prohibits mention
of all their predecessors. There has been a catholic spirit to it all, global,
outreach for peace and justice, Johanna’s many trips to Iraq during the
sanctions with Bishop Tom Gumbleton, a stalwart friend and inspiration to
them. They have brought health care to El Salvador, Peru, Nicaragua,
Afghanistan and most especially Haiti. The idea of a health clinic in Haiti was inspired by
the pastor of St. Clare’s parish in Port–au-Prince, the late Fr. Gerard Jean
Juste, close friend of the former President of Haiti, Aristide. Fr. Jean was
a charismatic, fearless friend of the bereft Haitians. Through the labor of
many, but especially Daniel Tillias, Pax Christi, Haiti, Johanna Berrigan and
Bishop Gumbleton, the Klinik Sen Michel is in place and has survived the
devastation of the recent earthquake, a small miracle. The house where they stay on visits to Haiti, staffed
by an elderly, vital sister, is called Matthew 25, a transferable scriptural
quote for what the House of Grace is about. “For I was hungry and you gave me
food, I was thirsty and you gave me drink, I was a stranger and you made me
welcome, lacking clothes and you clothed me, sick and you visited me, in
prison and you came to see me.” Fr. John Dunne of Notre Dame is fond of the expression,
“All our loves are one love.” It is a mix of the divine and human, inspired
by Christ. House of Grace has encircled itself with a wonderful mix of flesh
and blood human beings. Joe
Bradley |