When asked what Scripture passages come to mind regarding Paterson’s Bakhita’s Casita Friendship Café, Brother Joachim Joseph answered quickly and definitively: the wedding feast at Cana [Mt 2: 1-12].
“It is a time when people come together to celebrate, and that is what we are doing. We are just coming together to celebrate life and who Jesus is in each person,” said Brother Joseph of Franciscan Friars of Renewal in Paterson, which runs Bakhita’s Casita Friendship Café. “I also think of ‘Let the children come to me [Mt 19:14],’ because there are the people who come with a simple faith.”
The three-year-old café conducts food distribution on Mondays. Many homeless people come for coffee and a sandwich throughout the week. The friars often walk around the neighborhood.
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“Many people knew us, but we realized we did not know them, so the café was started as a way to be there for them,” Brother Joseph said.
The café welcomes visitors on Thursdays from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. It also hosts individuals 18 and older who are homeless, mothers who are picking up their children from school and those who are financially challenged. Washers and dryers are available for clothes to be washed and dried while waiting. A one-stall bathroom with a 15-minute time limit is also available for shower use.
“We wanted to get to know our neighbors more deeply, have a place where they could come together, and have an old-school neighborhood,” Brother Joseph said. “We have indoor and outdoor seating, so when I am at the café, I will fire up the grill and do hot dogs or hamburgers and put Salsa music outside. Most of the people who come are Latino. When I lived in the Bronx, there was a community garden where everybody would hang out. I wanted to have that kind of vibe here.”
Brother Joseph and Brother Jonathan Conte, who runs the café, are aided by fellow friars and other volunteers. The café is a perfect spot for fellowship, offering open or private prayer and spiritual conversation.
Brother Joseph said, “I think it’s a beautiful place where people know what we are about. We are about the Lord and his works. They know that this is not just a place to come and get food, but it is a place to encounter Jesus in his mercy.”
Bakhita’s Casita Friendship Café is located at 194 Butler Street in Paterson near the Community of the Franciscan Friars of the Renewal building.
