The Foundation
 Roderic
Petrie, OFM and Emmet Murphy, OFM arrived in Philadelphia
on September 23, 1977 to begin a new foundation for Holy Name
Province. They came to Philadelphia to start a ministry with
the poor. They did not have any specific details on how to
do that when they first arrived. The Brothers of the Good
Shepherd offered them hospitality. This religious community
was involved in staffing St. John's Hospice, a shelter and
soup kitchen in Center City Philadelphia. The two friars lived
for one year with the Brothers of the Good Shepherd and worked
full time at St. John's Hospice on Race Street. This was their
introduction to the homeless population in Philadelphia.
The Early Years
 During
this time they also tried to learn what they could do as a
Franciscan community. They had to figure out how they could
bring a Franciscan presence to the poor. One of the decisions
that they made was to live and start a new ministry in a poor
neighborhood. The friars purposely chose the Kensington neighborhood
to live and serve the poor and homeless population. In the
1970s Kensington had under gone many changes. Kensington was
for years an older industrial neighborhood with many manufacturing
jobs. The neighborhood was the industrial heart of Philadelphia.
Also, for many years, Kensington Avenue was the place that
many people in the city came to shop. By the 1970s the factories
closed and the stores moved to the suburbs. What moved into
the neighborhood were liquor stores and bars. This was a neighborhood
that was changing economically. There was also a shift in
location of the homeless population from Center City to the
Kensington neighborhood. Many of the homeless came into the
neighborhood and stayed in the empty factory buildings. The
friars felt that this was the section of the city that they
needed to live and establish a ministry with the poor.
In June of 1978 they moved into the neighborhood by taking
up residence at 157 W. Susquehanna Ave. Anthony Struzynski,
OFM joined the community at this time. This was the first
house that the friars lived in before moving, in the fall
of 1979, to the second floor of the Inn. In the spring of
1979 Sister Mary Lawrence Scanlan, OSF who is a Franciscan
Sister of Allegany was the first women to join the community.
She met the friars at St. John's Hospice and wanted to be
a part of this new Franciscan ministry. She lived with the
Sisters of Notre Dame at St. Peter's Church on Girard Ave
and worked with the friars.
The Vision
The vision that the friars had when they started was for
the community to live an intentional lifestyle with an emphasis
on prayer, poverty and witness. It was a desire to experience
the Franciscan vocation of poverty and brotherhood with the
poor. The vision for the ministry was to respond to the current
needs of the poor. The plan was to establish a drop-in center,
a dining room for the poor, a thrift shop, and a shelter in
the Kensington neighborhood.
Chronology of the Start of Ministries
1978 St. Clare's Thimble, a
thrift shop, opens at 112 E. Girard Ave.
1979 St. Benedict's, a thrift
shop for furniture and drop-in center opens at 437 W. Girard
Ave. St. Francis Inn opens at 2441 Kensington Ave. on December
16th. The Guest House, shelter opens at 2532 Kensington Ave.
This closes after about one year.
1980 St. Clare's Thimble moves
to 2858 Kensington Ave.
1981 St. Clare's Thimble also
becomes a women's shelter.
1982 St. Joseph House, men's
shelter, opens at 2436 Front Street.
1988 St. Clare's Thimble closed
as a thrift shop, but remains a shelter.
1989 St. Clare's shelter changes
to a women's day center.
1990 The women's center changes
its name to Thea Women's Center.
1998 Shelter closes because
of construction of a new school.
2000 The new kitchen and chapel
is dedicated.
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