Bishop Michael F. Burbidge visited diocesan Catholic Charities St. Martin de Porres Senior Center Oct. 4, the feast of St. Francis of Assisi, to meet with seniors from a variety of economic, faith and geographical backgrounds who come to the Alexandria center for meals, games, arts and crafts, recreation, field trips and companionship.
Catholic Charities operates the center in partnership with the City of Alexandria, which provides lunches and transportation.
It was Bishop Burbidge’s first, long-awaited visit to the center — at least two previous visits were canceled due to COVID-19.
“We were just thrilled and delighted that the Bishop came to visit — his first visit,” said Juanita Balenger, St. Martin de Porres program director. “And we were excited hearing from the seniors here how much they enjoyed hearing from him.”
St. Martin de Porres has been serving seniors in the building that was once a Lutheran Church for more than four decades. Its participants are diverse: men and women, ranging in age from 60s to 80s. While all live within the city of Alexandria, they grew up across the world — from Alexandria and other towns in Virginia to Pittsburgh and New York — to Korea, China, Mexico, Ecuador, Peru, Jamaica, Sierra Leone and Afghanistan.
Standing at the front of the large meeting room, Bishop Burbidge greeted the participants, who had just finished playing an art trivia game. He said the Catholic Church was celebrating an important feast day of “St. Francis, a very, very powerful saint who served the poor and needy with humility.”
He recalled the saint’s well-known prayer, asking God to make him an instrument of peace.
“That’s a prayer all of us should say now because we see so much hatred, don’t we? Darkness and violence in our midst, in our own city here, our surroundings. So, what can we do about it? We can get overwhelmed and say I can’t do anything about it. (But) I can do my part,” Bishop Burbidge told the group, as some participants nodded their heads.
“Lord where there is injury, let me bring pardon; where there is hatred, let me bring love. Where there is sadness, let me bring joy,” he said. “We just keep to our part, God will do his part, which is much greater than anything else we can accomplish,” he told the participants.
Bishop Burbidge toured the center and chatted with 30 participants who played games at round tables. He told five women at a table playing Uno about a dice and chip game he had recently played and enjoyed, “Left, Right and Center.” When Activities Coordinator Maria Mellor said the center had the game — somewhere — Bishop Burbidge began a search of its bookshelves until he found it.
Afterward, he toured the backyard garden, where volunteers grow vegetables that are raffled off to seniors each week. He was joined by diocesan Catholic Charities staff, including Balenger; Luis Angel, assistant director; Mellor; Dr. Michael Horne, director of clinical services; Matthew Zimmerman, chief financial officer; and Jenifer White, vice president for administration.
One participant, a Dallas Cowboy fan, told Balenger she especially liked meeting Bishop Burbidge — despite the fact he told her he roots for the Philadelphia Eagles — because he seemed humble and down to earth.
“I’ve heard many speakers with titles, but I really enjoyed what he had to say,” she said.
Snider is diocesan deputy director of communications.
