REACHING OUT TO THE HOMELESS

CATHOLIC U. THEOLOGY GRADUATE WINS AWARD FOR HIS MINISTRY

Jack Lombardi, who graduated from Catholic University's theological college Saturday, has received the Father Al Giaquinto Award from the university for his ministry to homeless people in downtown Washington.

Starting out by himself in January 1986 and later working with other seminary students, Lombardi provided homeless people with food, clothing and a sympathetic ear.

"The catalyst that got me going was a television talk show appearance by Mitch Snyder," Lombardi said.

It was December 1985 and he was at his parents' house in Timonium, Md., during the Christmas holiday. As he listened to the well-known advocate for the homeless, Lombardi asked himself: "What can I do?"

Three weeks later, he was on the streets of downtown Washington in the January cold. He had no idea of how he was going to help people.

Lombardi said he began by simply walking up to homeless people and asking, "Hi, how you doing today?"

Most were eager to talk, and Lombardi began making trips every Friday afternoon. By the end of January, he was inviting homeless people to eat with him, buying them meals in fast food restaurants.

By February, he was buying bread and meat and heading out with a bag full of sandwiches. Lombardi soon found a sponsor in Baltimore who contributed $300, and in early March, his work came to the attention of the theological college's Social Justice Committee.

The Social Justice Committee asked Lombardi to join them and made helping the homeless the focal point for its ministry that semester.

Every Friday afternoon, two or three students made the rounds downtown with a shopping bag full of sandwiches. The committee also arranged three masses at the seminary devoted to the subject of the homeless, while a clothing drive netted a roomful of clothes and a food drive collected canned goods.

Although Lombardi is leaving the area to work in Annapolis, the Social Justice Committee plans to continue the programs he helped start.

"In terms of my own spirituality and growth, I'm thankful to learn from the experience about homeless people," Lombardi said. "I search for the same things they search for . . . freedom and stability."

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