Six years ago, on April 25, 2020, a bus drove past each Community House of the Shalom Community of Life in Fortaleza, picking up two or three missionaries at every stop. It was a kind of tribute—or, in our own language, an offering—in which each community household offered two or three of its sons and daughters to serve during the COVID-19 pandemic alongside the poor, our friends living on the streets of Fortaleza.
That day, in the heart of every missionary boarding the bus, there was a mixture of emotions and thoughts: “Will I come back? My God, what will this be like? What if I get sick? What if I die offering my life? I should have gone to confession first. I don’t know what risk I’m taking, because this virus is still unknown. What if I catch it? What if I die?”
Inside the bus there was a fearful silence before the unknown. We were heading to the volunteers’ lodging at CEST (Santa Teresa Spirituality Center—a retreat house of the Shalom Community in Fortaleza) with no return date. Before that April 25 departure, nearly a month of pandemic life had already passed: fear, tension, homes locked down, and television news broadcasts generating anxiety and even more worry.
Meanwhile, our brothers and sisters living on the streets—our friends—began suffering even more. Because of the lockdown, everything was closed. There was no one to provide food for them, and only a few initiatives had begun to emerge.
What should we do?
But what about us, the Shalom Community? What were we going to do? How could we respond with zeal and prudence, but also with boldness and parrhesia? The former St. Francis House was trying to respond by distributing food amid outrage and complaints from neighbors. St. Francis House itself was still rebuilding and starting over, since it had been closed in 2019. Some believed people living on the streets were “beyond help.”
We returned to the question: how should we, as Shalom, respond to the suffering humanity present in homeless people without shelter and without food during the pandemic? So we began to listen to the Lord. There was much prayer—and many meetings as well. Then came the inspiration for something new: a New Work arising in the midst of chaos.
Shalom in the Pandemic—or rather, the Shalom Friend of the Poor Project—because our friends on the streets needed comprehensive care. “Let us help St. Francis House and the homeless poor. Let us love, assist, and evangelize!”
The first brothers and sisters
There were 72 missionaries among us—not mere coincidence, as we realized only later, but providence: a design of God echoing the Gospel of Luke 10:1-12, where Jesus sends out 72 disciples two by two to places where He Himself intended to go. Most were members of the Community of Life, but there were also members of the Covenant Community and volunteers from the wider Shalom Work. From the beginning of this new mission, we lived the complementarity of our vocation.
Something new
When we arrived at CEST, our lodging, we realized the situation was serious: sanitizing feet and shoes on mats soaked with bleach solution, and each person practically receiving a “bath” of hand sanitizer sprayed from head to toe over body and clothing.
Behind every N95 mask was the smile of someone rejoicing in reunion and in that great adventure. But behind those masks there was also fear, questions, and uncertainty. Above all that, there was a joyful yes—a response of “Here I am, wherever the Church and humanity need us.”
Necessary care
At the lodging site, each person stayed in a room alone, or at most two per room. The priority was organizing spaces according to COVID-19 test results, keeping those who tested positive together and those who tested negative apart, in order to avoid psychological strain and ensure greater safety for all.
At mealtimes, each person sat at one end of the table, far from everyone else. Snacks were hung in bags on each room door. Thanks be to God, we had outdoor Mass and daily Eucharist. There was also much fraternal life to ease tensions and fatigue, because the offering lasted from Sunday to Sunday.
We returned home late, after apostolate work in streets and public squares, worn out from the hot sun overhead. And amid all this came what was most beautiful: many lives restored—ours and our friends’—vocations renewed, and the poor cared for. Impossible rescues happened, prophecy made visible before our eyes. Blessed be God.
Today
Today, six years later, Shalom Friend of the Poor continues its mission of restoring and reintegrating people experiencing homelessness back into society. The Lord inspired for us a path to walk with our friends: the Way of Friendship. This path is built on three pillars: Friendship, Spirituality, and Education for Work. All our actions, activities, services, and outreach are guided by these three foundations. The journey is made up of three stages:
Stage 1: St. Francis House Community Center – In downtown Fortaleza, our brothers are welcomed and receive basic services such as meals, showers, health care, and more. Those who suffer from the scourge of drug addiction, and who freely desire help, are then referred to a second step.
Stage 2: Welcome House – Our friends are welcomed and spend time deepening their spiritual life, rediscovering God’s love. They also experience fraternal community life, work therapy, and support in sobriety. This house is located in the Diocese of Itapipoca. After their time there, they are offered the opportunity to continue to a final stage.
Stage 3: Social Reintegration House – Here they are welcomed for six months and prepared for the workforce. They take part in vocational experiences, courses, and the discovery of new skills, along with deeper spiritual formation and new fraternal bonds.
This house is still under renovation. It is located in downtown Fortaleza and is expected to open later this year.
Friend of the Poor in Rome
How many lives have been restored. How many testimonies of men found by Shalom Friend of the Poor who were given the chance to tell their life story differently. Among many testimonies, we highlight Mr. José Marques and Alexandre Perez, who were welcomed by the project in 2022 and today live with dignity. A major moment in their lives came with the opportunity to travel to Rome in 2026 during the Jubilee Year, to take part in the Jubilee of the Poor alongside volunteers and missionaries involved in the Human Promotion ministries of the Shalom Catholic Community. As previously told by Comshalom, they were blessed to have lunch with the Holy Father, Pope Leo XIV, in Rome during celebrations for the World Day of the Poor.
“To be there before the Holy Father, to share with him a little of our story—the testimonies of restored lives and of the volunteers who offer themselves here—to hear him blessing us and blessing our work, made me feel as though I were being sent out anew. The Shalom Community was born at the feet of Peter. Therefore, to stand at the feet of the Holy Father, representing all our services to the poorest, is to renew our offering and our commitment to those who suffer most. The Church confirms us and sends us out again.”
Thácio Romano – coordinator of Shalom Friend of the Poor in Fortaleza
Continue this story
You can continue this story. Volunteer, donate, and support our Friend of the Poor houses in Fortaleza, Itapipoca, Juazeiro, Sobral, and Teresina.
Become part of SOS Rua at the Shalom Community mission nearest you.
