How they got here

Three Franciscans came to the Kensington neighborhood of Philadelphia in 1979 to see what they could do to help the poor here.  Their initial thought was to start a parish but they wanted to make sure that's what the people in the area needed.  So one of the friars decided to spend 2 weeks living amongst the people here to see what the needs were.  After the 2 weeks passed, the friar said the people didn't need a church, they needed food and help with drugs and alcohol.  They discovered that the people didn't need the gospel preached to them, they needed the gospel lived amongst them.  

The friars bought an old bar on the corner of Kensington Ave. and East Hagert Street for $1,000.  The city owned the property as the bar's owner was unable to pay the property taxes at one time- because he was dead in the basement (he was murdered).  The inn began serving meals on December 16, 1979 and hasn't missed a day since.