Less than a week before Pope Francis makes his first visit to the United States, a Catholic charity in Stamford, Connecticut has opened a new soup kitchen priced at more than $1 million. With a full food pantry, a computer lab, medical services and a room with a barber's chair for haircuts, the New Covenant Center is, according to Bridgeport Diocese Bishop Frank Caggiano, in line with Francis's vision for a more holistic way of looking at charity.
“Looking at the human person in his or her fullness of dignity," Caggiano said. "Because this is a place where people are treated with true respect and dignity. That’s exactly what Pope Francis is challenging the whole world to do."
Caggiano said that dignity is one of the key words in an encyclical, a letter the Pope writes to Church leaders, Pope Francis released earlier this year.
The New Covenant Center, which is run by the national group Catholic Charities, started serving the poor out of a church basement in 1978. The new building has a food pantry, a kitchen, a computer lab, rooms for medical treatment and a room with a mirror and barber’s chair for haircuts. The new kitchen will be able to serve more than 250 people at a time.
Pope Francis will hold a Sunday morning mass in Washington, D.C. with volunteers and clients of the group during his visit to the U.S. next week.
