Older readers may recall that although his feast day was removed from the Church’s universal calendar in 1969 Christopher continues to be recognized as a saint and venerated worldwide as the patron saint of travelers.
This distinction arises from the tradition which places him in southern Turkey in the early third century. A proud non-Christian known for is extraordinary physical strength, he was carrying a small child across a river when the child’s weight became almost insupportable. Arriving at the opposite shore he was humbled to learn that his passenger was the Christ Child who carried the weight of the world on his own shoulders. Christopher became a Christian, preached the faith and eventually was martyred.
In 1909 the Franciscan Friars of the Atonement established a residence in Graymoor, New York for the purpose of providing ‘lodging for the pilgrims of the road’, wandering men who for various reasons were ‘down and out’. After the patron saint of travelers they named it St. Christopher’s Inn and each resident became known as ‘Brother Christopher’.
Today, St. Christopher’s Inn (www.stchristophersinn-graymoor.org) offers structured, integrated care for men who live on the margins of society. The Inn can accommodate up to 150 residents and averages 90 at any given time. Most stay for 4 or 5 months. Some who seek a more solid foundation for recovery stay and live for an extended period in the San Damiano House where they learn to cultivate flowers and vegetables for local markets.
Over time the Friars became skilled in working with men addicted to drugs and alcohol. The Inn has been accredited by CARF, the Commission for the Accreditation of Rehabilitation Facilities: “an independent nonprofit accreditor of health and human services whose mission is to promote the quality, value, and optimal outcomes of services through a consultative accreditation process and continuous improvement services that center on enhancing the lives of persons served”.
As the Inn’s website states: “There is a special type of healing that takes place daily. Not in an earth-shaking fashion, but rather very slowly and quietly… The men who come to the Inn have suffered unemployment, loss of family, lack of prestige, poor health, and loss of self-respect. They come to the Inn seeking inner peace, answers to their problems, and self-affirmation…..We give external care for the men through medical care, food, shelter love and respect. They build on that, which eventually leads them to the point at which they begin to believe in themselves again”.
The example of St. Christopher’s Inn reminds us that as the Kingdom advances we are all Brother Christophers and, in a way, philanthropy – especially the philanthropy facilitated by NCCF – is itself a kind of inn where we travelers ourselves find healing and hope.
St. Christopher, pray for us.
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