Five Years of Capuchin Mobile Ministries

It was August 2020, six months into the Covid pandemic. It was a time of fear and isolation, when survival was on all our minds. The streets were empty, and all of us were at home and feeling alone. It was at that time when the friars loaded a new white van with coffee and sandwiches, bottled water and snacks, and rosaries and bibles. And they went out into the streets to bring God’s peace, love, and mercy to people who have always been afraid, alone, and struggling to survive. It was then that Capuchin Mobile Ministries was born.

For five years, we have faithfully visited people experiencing homelessness on the streets of Boston and Cambridge, Mass. More and more people, both those in need and those who want to help the needy, have been drawn to our ministry van and our offer of spiritual care.

Covid as a pandemic-level threat has gone away, but poverty and homelessness have not gone away. “The poor you will always have with you; but you will not always have me,” Jesus warns his disciples (Matthew 26:11). Franciscans don’t want poverty, but they want Jesus, and Jesus chose to be poor so that God could be manifested in him. As Franciscans, we Capuchins live the Gospel by standing with the poor and sharing in their lives as Jesus did and as St. Francis of Assisi did. The friars, chaplains, and volunteers of Capuchin Mobile Ministries share their goods with people experiencing homelessness, but more importantly they offer their hearts. The most precious commodity we offer is our time and our undivided attention to people who get so little of either.

Scores of laypeople and a few priests from parishes in the Archdiocese of Boston have become the backbone of the ministry, making sandwiches and volunteering in the van, providing the hospitality on our thrice-weekly outreach trips. Others purchase emergency supplies for us or make rosaries. Still others pray for our friends who live on the streets. A number of our friars have served as chaplains over the years, including Br. Gabriel Conlon, Fr. Carlos Cortez, Fr. Samuel Fuller, Br. Shawn Natola, Br. Francisco Serrano, and Br. Anthony Zuba. The one constant has been Br. Paul Fesefeldt, CMM’s founder and director, who was a Catholic Worker resident volunteer in New York City for a decade before joining the Order in 2013.

We are grateful to everyone who has helped us build community with our friends on the streets. We honor their gifts, talents, and their commitment to creating transformational relationships through which God’s healing work can happen.

As we commemorate five years, we would like to share some testimonies from our volunteers.

I believe that getting involved only takes a suggestion (i.e., “Hey … why don’t you come with me to do XYZ”) or a gentle nudge, but sometimes it ends up being a very strong push!

My involvement started with my friend Joyce Pinney saying, “Hey … the Capuchin Mobile Ministries van looks like something that would be right up your alley.” Joyce has supernatural powers, and she must have known that I was looking for an opportunity to become more involved with people going through tough times.

So, I called Brother Anthony and voilá … I had my first experience serving God’s people with the mobile ministry.

Seriously, going out in the van is one of my favorite things to do. I look forward to meeting with all of our friends on the streets, hearing their stories and just “being there” for anyone that might need some conversation or a cup of coffee.

And, I consider the Capuchin brothers and other volunteers as friends that I absolutely love to talk and learn from. Everyone’s background story is so different, and they all have amazing gifts and skills to share.

When I first started, I enjoyed my days on the mobile ministry van so much that I knew I had to get others from our parish involved. I gently nudged some of my friends at St. Brigid’s Church to join me on the van. It kind of snowballed from there. We have adult and teen groups that make sandwiches, others that donate to purchase supplies, and folks that join us on the van. We have shared photos on our Facebook page and placed notifications in the bulletin for people to get involved.

As I said … it only takes someone to say, “Hey … I think you might like this!” and don’t give up if they are busy. The next time might stick!

Lauren Foohey, parishioner, St. Brigid Parish, Lexington, Mass.

Spending six weeks on the outreach van reshaped my understanding of homelessness and community. Every Sunday, as we drove through Boston, I witnessed the raw, unfiltered reality of homelessness—the faces of people often forgotten by society, standing on corners or sitting on sidewalks. What really struck me, though, was not just the act of giving, but the conversations that unfolded. The simple act of talking with someone, offering a sandwich or a warm drink, became a powerful acknowledgment of their humanity.

What I learned through this outreach was how often we look down, focused on our own lives, missing the people and struggles right in front of us. I learned to look up and see what’s too often ignored—the faces and experiences of those who go unnoticed.

This experience taught me that it’s not always about fixing problems, but about offering a moment of dignity and care and how small acts of recognition can restore a sense of worth. I will always carry with me the words, faces, and lessons I learned from the ministry, the volunteers, and above all, the individuals I had the privilege of connecting with on the streets.

Angelina Dooa, student, Boston College

I have been volunteering on the van for three years. My heart and therefore my life have changed since my first trip! Each month I eagerly await the signup, as my time on the van gives me the opportunity to see how our gestures of kindness and care make a difference in the lives of the people we are privileged to serve. Most of all, I believe it is the connection with each person and the spiritual support that matters the most. As our van pulls into each stop, I often smile as a recipient runs to meet us or someone asks where Brother Paul or Vince might be that day.

I have come to see it is not us and them but we, and it is this togetherness and unity which makes a difference. I am blessed by each encounter, and I hope each person is blessed by our visit. As I make the drive back to the South Shore, I am tired and a little hungry, but my heart is a little fuller because of the people I met that day. Often I also reflect on how grateful those we meet were, and I ask myself, “How can I be more like those we met today?” I pray that the things I have do not blind me to what is truly important in life. See you on the van soon!

Marcia Orcutt, parishioner, St. Thomas Aquinas Parish, Bridgewater, Mass.

During the Covid years, I took to making rosaries while I was stuck at home. Someone bought them for over $1,000, and I decided to put the money to good use for something charitable. Brother Anthony gave a talk at our parish, and I drove over to his friary, and I told him I could help.

The big thing was that I was able to use my time and money for something that benefits the needy directly, not a big organization without a face, and I became involved with real people of similar minds and spirit.

Frank Cangemi, parishioner, Divine Mercy Parish, Quincy, Mass.

After you have been on the van a few times, the concept of “service” sort of takes a back seat. You know these folks. They are glad to see you, and you are glad to see them. What you are doing is visiting your friends, where they live.

As a long-time volunteer, I get quite the friendly reception from the people we see on the way. But the chaplains, they are treated like celebrities.

I know how meaningful it is for each person who regularly visits the van to feel like they matter enough that the friars keep coming back to see them. They are the destination. It makes folks in the homeless community feel like they are somebody, which of course, they are.

John Lane, Boston Public Health Commission

I have always been a helper by nature, so when a friend told me about Capuchin Mobile Ministries, I instantly said yes. Three years later, reflecting on that yes, I realize that volunteering with CMM is so much more than simply being a helper.

At least once a month I organize sandwich making and head out on that day’s outreach trip. I have enjoyed the helping of making sandwiches and sharing about CMM with my daughters, confirmation students, co-workers, friends, and fellow parishioners. It is joy-filled work where everyone leaves with a smile. But I have come to realize that it is the time I get to spend with people on the street—serving them, seeing them, listening to them, laughing or praying with them—that has deeply impacted my heart. These are real connections with real people—each is a real moment to be Christ to another.

Fred Rogers once said, “I believe that appreciation is a holy thing, that when we look for what’s best in a person we happen to be with at the moment, we’re doing what God does all the time.” I think that really speaks to how I feel and to the CMM mission: to bring the welcome of Christ to the homeless community.

Amy Staffier, parishioner, Christ the King Parish, Reading, Mass.

We’ve been riding the van for a couple of years now. It took a couple of trips to get comfortable with just being present to all those the van serves. For both of us, it helps expand our universe and put us in touch with those we don’t see in the normal course of our days. By serving together it provides a common frame of reference and a way to deepen our spiritual lives. It helps that we enjoy our time with the various friars and other regulars as well as the other volunteers.

Dan and Mary Anne Lagan, parishioners, Natick Catholic Community

I found CMM randomly in 2021, when driving past Boston Common. My mom spotted the van and ran across three lanes of traffic to learn more about the van servicing the homeless. Since then, our family has looked forward to making sandwiches, going on the van, and of course participating in Winter Walk!There is truly no better way to simplify your perspective on human connection than to watch the feeling of pride and belonging that is brought about when Brother Paul calls a community member by their name, a source of validation that we often take for granted. I love working with CMM and recommend it to anyone I know who is looking to make an impact, because it fills a gap in resources by offering community, dignity, and religious union to the most vulnerable among us, the unhoused.

Anna Adams, student, Emmanuel College, Boston

The Nonviolent Heart of Capuchin Mobile Ministries

Capuchin Mobile Ministries provides spiritual care for people living on the streets. The practice of nonviolence in all our words and actions is a constitutive element of the pastoral care we offer to persons traumatized by homelessness and poverty. The friars, chaplains, and volunteers of Capuchin Mobile Ministries gathered for a weekend, Aug. 15-16, for a formation retreat whose purpose was to foster (and reinforce) nonviolent practices as inspired by the Gospels and Franciscan spirituality.

In his presentations, Br. Paul Fesefeldt led the retreatants, who came from Catholic and Christian communities throughout Greater Boston, through several fundamentals on the theory and practice of nonviolence. Br. Anthony Zuba outlined several themes in a Franciscan practice of nonviolence by highlighting stories from the lives of St. Francis of Assisi and St. Clare of Assisi. Br. Francisco Serrano led a prayer that drew on the Jubilee Year of Hope. Volunteer Amy Staffier of Christ the King Parish, Reading, Mass., also led a prayer, and volunteer Jonathan Yu-Phelps, a teacher at Cristo Rey High School in Dorchester, Mass., led a reflection and discussion on Gospel nonviolence. Intern Kathleen Hughes, a seminarian at Boston University School of Theology, led a group icebreaker in which each retreatant had to describe the meaning of Capuchin Mobile Ministries to them in only six words. We concluded with a celebration of Eucharist, with volunteer Fr. Bruce Teague presiding. We thank the sisters at Notre Dame Spirituality Retreat Center, Ipswich, Mass., for their hospitality, good cheer, and good food.

We encourage you to help ensure the future of Capuchin Mobile Ministries' work by clicking HERE and making a donation.

Our Ministry Philosophy

by Br. Paul Fesefeldt

Traditional models of faith-based outreach rely heavily on the charity aspect of ministry. While charity is important, it can cause difficulties in relationship-building and the pursuit of systemic change. People living on the street suffer daily from addictions, mental illness, and dehumanization. The way we interact with them during our outreach ministry can either add to this pain or help to transform it.

Most of the people we meet get their human needs met through impersonal bureaucratic institutions. Thus they are socialized into dependence on systems of charity and service that teach them to receive passively, to take helplessly rather than obtain what they need through dignified human exchanges. A taking mindset denies people their sense of agency and deprives them of power through loss of choice. This mindset trains them to feel helpless and weak. It reinforces an “I-It” relationship, where we both become a means to an end, rather than an “I-Thou” relationship, where we become brothers and sisters on a journey together. The “I-It” relationship conditions them to get whatever they can simply for the sake of getting and not because of their actual needs. It conditions us to give in order to receive a feel-good response rather than to foster the difficult work of relationship building.

Therefore, we have to be deliberate in the way we show charity in our outreach. Our mission at CMM is not to meet the material needs of those we encounter on the street, but to accompany them with our presence, active listening, and genuineness. Of course, we do have goods to meet their material needs, and we share them gladly, but that is not why we are out there. The things we offer are carefully selected and meted out, not to encourage people to remain on the street but to ensure that they will be safe until the next time we encounter them. This means that there may be moments of awkwardness that we may want to fill by doing something. That is not our ministry; our ministry is witness.

Let there be no illusion: our ministry is hard. It is hard to see people suffer. It is hard to see people in pain. This is not easy to do. We all want to help others, and it feels natural to do so. Giving people things eases our guilty feelings and our discomfort over poverty and inequality. This behavior, though understandable, is actually not helpful. It perpetuates the imbalance of power and privilege between you and them. It denies them their own agency and infantilizes them. It demeans their dignity and reinforces their dependence on groups and institutions.

Our ministry is not about things. It is about relationships. Listen to them. Honor their choice. Honor their power. This breaks the cycle of “We have. You need.” Never do anything simply to avoid feeling guilty or bad. A sandwich and a cup of coffee are a conversation starter, like a church social after Mass. Our offering of food and drink is designed to foster and build relationship. To nourish the soul more than the body. We cannot help people recover their power by treating them as dependents instead of sisters and brothers. By shifting our focus and internal motivation to this model of ministry, we are more likely to create a scenario for real change with those we minister to and minister with, as well as within ourselves.