Four Things We Learned From Christian Science Monitor’s Sister Mary Scullion Profile

Sister Mary Scullion | Facebook

The Christian Science Monitor has a nice cover story today about Sister Mary Scullion, the Project HOME founder that publication calls “Philadelphia’s saint of the streets.”

Scullion and her activism to assist the city’s homeless have long been well-known in Philadelphia, but we still found out a couple of new things about her from the CSM profile:

• She lives with the people she serves: Project HOME facilities, full of formerly homeless people, can inspire opposition from neighborhood residents where the agency builds new housing. Scullion’s solution is to share the backyard: “She lives now in a North Philadelphia Project HOME building she shares with clients.”

• She got some early inspiration from some famous names: Mother Teresa is high on the list — as is Dorothy Day and other antipoverty Catholics who visited Philadelphia with Pope John Paul II in 1979 visit.

• She’s just like you and me: It’s not all about sacrifice: “She runs. She gets to the Jersey shore. She has dinner with friends.” One pleasure she misses? Watching Colbert Report at the end of the day.

• She’s made a difference: “Project HOME has become one of the most effective homeless organizations in the country. Among America’s 10 largest cities, Philadelphia has the worst poverty rate but also one of the lowest rates of homelessness – a phenomenon that many here attribute directly to Scullion’s efforts.”

Read the whole thing, as they say.