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The story of the Ministry of Caring begins in 1976, when Brother Ronald Giannone, OFM Cap., a young Capuchin Franciscan friar, was sent by his order to Wilmington, Delaware. It took little time for Brother Ronald to notice the absence of services for the city’s poor and homeless. The lack of emergency shelters for homeless and destitute women deeply disturbed him. The loneliness and hunger of the poorest of the poor in a country of plenty appalled him. As his indignation rose, so did his passion to alleviate poverty in his new city. His life’s work now identified, he promptly set out on his mission to assure that in Wilmington, “the poor should never be treated poorly.”
With support from the Catholic Diocese of Wilmington, Brother Ronald incorporated the ministry and used its first grant of $5,000 to buy a house in Wilmington, where he opened the Delmarva Peninsula’s first emergency shelter for homeless and destitute women. With the support of kind volunteers and committed religious orders, he opened Mary Mother of Hope House on October 7, 1977. The shelter, which initially served double-duty as the ministry’s office, has gone on to serve more than 7,000 women. The original shelter became Mary Mother of Hope House I in 1983, when the ministry opened Mary Mother of Hope House II, an emergency shelter for women with children, on the second floor of its Capuchin Center above Emmanuel Dining Room West at Second and Jackson streets in Wilmington.
The Ministry of Caring today is an organization of 19 high-quality programs that serve the poor. With a current budget of over $10 million, the Ministry has accomplished much since 1977. Yet, much work remains. The poor of Wilmington will continue, no doubt, to demonstrate new needs. “Our success has been made one person at a time… one day at a time,” says Brother Ronald. With the support of staff, volunteers and donors, the Ministry of Caring will continue to help fill these unmet needs with your help.
