Mother Teresa of Calcutta once said, “When Christ said, ‘I was hungry and you fed me,’ He didn’t mean only the hunger for food and for bread; He also meant the hunger to be loved.”

The community at St. John the Baptist Church in Burlington, Ont., has been taking this message to heart, with the historic 175-year-old parish feeding souls originally ministered to by priests on horseback and horse and buggy before Canadian Confederation, to the present day where it has hosted the current bread delivery ministry for the past five years.

John and Claire D’Addario, who have been St. John’s parishioners for 30 years, say their acts of service are rooted in living out their Catholic faith, from the breaking of bread at the Eucharistic table on Sundays with fellow parishioners, to delivering bread to about 15 families in need in their community every week.

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Claire volunteers with the parish’s St. Vincent de Paul Society ministry, while John is with its Knights of Columbus council. The two groups have joined forces to work together in the bread delivery ministry.

Through snow storms, rain showers and the challenges of a global pandemic, the D’Addarios and other dedicated volunteers have delivered bread with prayers and purpose, part of a collaborative team effort of volunteers who value their Catholic faith and feel a call to serve their community.

“It stuck in the back of my head how important it is to help people who are unhoused and people who are not as privileged as we are,” said Claire. “The bread idea works really well with (the theme of the) body of Christ and serving others.” 

Like clockwork every week, John, a 17-year volunteer with the Knights, is joined by three other parish volunteers who pick up freshly made bread from a downtown Burlington COBS Bakery that donates bread. Artisan bread that remains unsold at the end of the day is repurposed for a greater good: It is shared with neighbours, John noted. 

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The bread is then brought to the basement of St. John the Baptist Church where it is re-packaged and sorted by volunteers from the Society of St. Vincent de Paul. About five to seven volunteers sort the bread into bags for delivery on Thursday evenings, and between five to eight people deliver the bread on Fridays.

During COVID times, John remembers how efficient and precise everything had to be: four volunteers wearing masks and gloves went into the store to gather the bread donations. And during that challenging time of COVID lockdowns, from about 20 to 36 large bread bags were sorted for deliveries to recipients who lived in condo buildings, apartments, homes, co-op housing and workers at senior long-term care homes.

At the senior homes, John said, they made deliveries for the long-term care workers who worked many long hours during the pandemic as a “thank you” for their efforts during a very stressful and challenging time. 

While there were no-contact deliveries during COVID where volunteers did not see anyone, John recalled hearing the voices of appreciation on the phone when he called families to say that their bread was on their way, and when it arrived at their doorstep. 

“We never saw anybody, and all we did was hang (the bread bag) on the doorknob or mailbox and ring the doorbell. The only time we saw anybody was when we were leaving and they waved to us,” John said.

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The D’Addarios are thankful to be able to help their neighbours and be a part of the parish’s longstanding history of generosity and outreach in the Burlington community. The longevity of St. John the Baptist Church illustrates the enduring legacy of the Catholic faith and Church in Canada.

“It’s amazing that (St. John the Baptist Church) has been there that long and it’s well known and it’s a constant,” Claire said. “The church has been giving to our community for a long time and it’s there for them when they need it.”