A soup kitchen’s recent move to a new location did not slow down Michigan Area members as they cooked and served lunch to the hungry, isolated, and lonely in Detroit.

The St. Leo’s Soup Kitchen in Detroit has roots going back to the early 1900s, weathering such obstacles as the Great Depression, the 2017 closing of St. Leo’s parish church, and the COVID pandemic. A more recent challenge came in August 2024: Having to pack up and move the soup kitchen to a new location for the second time in three years.

The soup kitchen is now located at 8601 Woodward in the basement of the People’s Community Church in Detroit. Happily, St. Leo’s new home is right across the street from its previous location, so people in the community can still come for a good lunch and fellowship. Another advantage of the new location: With the larger kitchen, volunteers can serve many more people.

On October 11, Michigan Area members prepared 196 hot lunches from scratch, working under the direction of Dominic French, St. Leo’s interim kitchen manager. Michigan Area volunteers work at the soup kitchen on the second and fourth Fridays of each month (and on fifth Fridays when they occur). This effort is organized by Michigan Area Hospitaller Kathleen Mastrangelo, DM.

Participants included Kathleen Mastrangelo; Dr. Lourdes Andaya, DM; Associate Rana Jamil; Simon Jamil, son of Rana Jamil; Associate Vince Mastrangelo; Sean Shriner, Member in Formation; Andrea McKenna, mother of Sean Shriner; Michigan Area Chair Andy Smith, KM; and Santiago Smith, son of Andy Smith.

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