On The Feast Of St. Francis, In The City Of St. Francis

More than thirty-five million meals ago, the doors to St. Anthony’s Dining Room opened for service. It was October 4, 1950. Why on that day? Was it meant to open on October 2nd, but delayed because of construction? Was there some natural disaster on October 3, 1950, that Fr. Alfred Boeddeker, pastor of St. Boniface Church next door, responded to by providing meals to those left homeless? Rand McNally says that San Francisco has the best weather in the country in October. So why this day and not December 4th to bring the hungry and homeless in off the streets?

St. Anthony’s opened on October 4th because this was the feast of St. Francis of Assisi. Having committed his life to following in the footsteps of this 13th century holy man, the pastor of the church on Golden Gate chose this day to begin a great work that has become a living testament to St. Francis’ love for the poor.

St. Francis of Assisi is one of the most beloved and most popular of all saints—and that’s still true if we rightly broaden the term to include holy men and women of all religious faiths. When we consider his popularity, we might suspect the crafty hand of a modern day marketing expert at work. After all, St. Francis has become the favorite of backyard gardeners, the champion of environmentalists, the patron of pets and the defender of the dispossessed. But the key to such a broad spectrum of devotion is not to be found in the portfolio of a Vatican publicist.

The breadth is explained by the depth.

At the heart of Francis’ canticle to Brother Sun and Sister Moon is his joy in an intimate bond that unites all creation. His preaching to the birds and his offer of reconciliation to the wolf sprang from his belief in the moral standing of all living beings. What pulled him off his horse to embrace the leper and invited him to identify with the poor and lowly was his glimpse of the divine in the simple and the rejected.

St. Francis had a gift of seeing within in order to look beyond. It was this grace that allowed him to share with those in need. Like his patron, Fr. Alfred Boeddeker saw through the mean stereotypes used to dismiss the “bums” and the hobos” of the 50’s and welcomed brothers and sisters who deserved to be treated with dignity and respect.

This is the grace that has enabled countless volunteers over the past 59 years to follow in St. Francis’ footsteps as they walk to a table in St. Anthony’s Dining Room to deliver a tray of food.

Four hundred meals were served on October 4, 1950 in the new St. Anthony’s Dining Room because October 4th was the feast of St. Francis. Fr. Alfred chose that day in the city of St. Francis to declare that the spirit of il poverello (the little poor man) of Assisi lives on. We celebrate the feast of St. Francis this year by serving more than 2600 meals a day in that same Dining Room, in that same spirit.