Catholic ministry serving community for 85 years

By The Catholic Week
SELMA — The Edmundite Missions in Selma celebrated its 85th anniversary on July 6 by returning to its beginnings.
The Edmundite Missions is a Catholic organization, rooted in the Gospel of Jesus Christ, that provides food, clothing and shelter to poor and marginalized children and families, young adults and seniors of all faith traditions to meet their immediate needs while addressing the long-term issues of systemic poverty in the Deep South.
The Edmundite Missions was founded on July 6, 1937, by Society of Edmundite priests Fr. Francis “Frank” Casey, S.S.E., and Fr. John “Barney” Paro, S.S.E. The two were sent to proselytize, where they quickly discovered that the people were not without faith but were instead without food. 
On July 6, 1937, the very day they arrived, they began serving sandwiches out of the back door of their home and the Edmundite Missions was born. 
In recognition of this, the Missions held a cookout on its anniversary. President & C.E.O. Chad McEachern handed out meals to pay homage to the work of the Founders and the legacy of service they began 85 years ago.
“To be able to stand where Fr. Frank and Fr. Barney stood and hand out meals like they did in 1937 is really humbling. I know our founders would be so proud to see that the Mission they started has expanded from sandwiches served out of the back door to nutritious meals served in a dignified dining room.”
Today, Edmundite Missions’ Bosco Nutrition Center serves 1,300 meals each day, seven days a week in the heart of Selma. 
It acts as a hub for many outreach programs. 
Edmundite Missions also provides clothing and shelter to poor and marginalized children and families, young adults and seniors of all faith traditions — meeting immediate needs but and addressing long-term issues of systemic poverty in the Deep South.
McEachern added: “We truly stand on the shoulders of giants. And while I know they’d want us to celebrate, they’d also want us to continue growing and evolving, turning even more of our services into solutions for our neighbors and the communities in which we serve. It’s fitting that on the other side of Broad Street from where we’ll be serving lunch there are crews busily working to prepare our new administrative office.
“It is important we celebrate the past, but it’s also important that we prepare for the future.”
— Information provided by Joe O’Qunn, Director of Communications for Edmundite Missions. Visit www.edmunditemissions.org for more.