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While friars serve food, volunteers kneel in prayer in a simple chapel before the Blessed Sacrament.
Friar Benet’s Kitchen in Canning Town, East London, England./ Mazur/cbcew.org.uk. (photo: Mazur/cbcew.org.uk.)
LONDON, England — In an area of London that attracts few tourists, even at the best of times, there is a place called Friar Benet’s Kitchen. It’s not, as you might expect, a restaurant with a sign featuring a jolly medieval monk holding up a flagon of ale.
But it is an eatery imbued with an ancient monastic spirit. You can trace its roots all the way back to St. Francis, who lived among the poor of Assisi.
Fr Christopher Joseph McBride, a member of the Franciscan Friars of the Renewal, told CNA in an interview that the soup kitchen in Canning Town, East London, has fed the hungry for the past 20 years.
While friars serve food, volunteers kneel in prayer in a simple chapel before the Blessed Sacrament.
“We’re very conscious that, you know, we feed people, but the real desire is to bless them spiritually,” the priest, who is responsible for the kitchen, said.
While the friars pray that every visitor will have a life-changing encounter with Jesus, they are happy if their guests simply feel blessed by their visit.
Continued below.
Meet the Friars Feeding the Hungry During the Pandemic: ‘It’s a Beautiful Thing’
Friar Benet’s Kitchen in Canning Town, East London, England./ Mazur/cbcew.org.uk. (photo: Mazur/cbcew.org.uk.)
LONDON, England — In an area of London that attracts few tourists, even at the best of times, there is a place called Friar Benet’s Kitchen. It’s not, as you might expect, a restaurant with a sign featuring a jolly medieval monk holding up a flagon of ale.
But it is an eatery imbued with an ancient monastic spirit. You can trace its roots all the way back to St. Francis, who lived among the poor of Assisi.
Fr Christopher Joseph McBride, a member of the Franciscan Friars of the Renewal, told CNA in an interview that the soup kitchen in Canning Town, East London, has fed the hungry for the past 20 years.
While friars serve food, volunteers kneel in prayer in a simple chapel before the Blessed Sacrament.
“We’re very conscious that, you know, we feed people, but the real desire is to bless them spiritually,” the priest, who is responsible for the kitchen, said.
While the friars pray that every visitor will have a life-changing encounter with Jesus, they are happy if their guests simply feel blessed by their visit.
Continued below.
Meet the Friars Feeding the Hungry During the Pandemic: ‘It’s a Beautiful Thing’
