by Moira Cullings
moira.cullings@theleaven.org
KANSAS CITY, Kan. — When family photographer Fallon O’Connor was looking for a group of nuns to photograph two years ago, she started where anyone would.
“I Googled ‘Nuns near me’ and found the Sisters Poor of Jesus Christ,” she said. “I didn’t know what they did. I didn’t know anything about them except they wore brown habits.”
The parishioner of St. Ann Parish in Prairie Village contacted the Sisters, envisioning a picturesque photo shoot with them at Loose Park’s rose garden in Kansas City, Missouri.
The response she received was disappointing.
“You can come photograph us,” Sister Maria Dolores of the Eucharistic Heart, PJC, told her. “But we’re offering you street ministry with the homeless.”
Each Tuesday, the Sisters and volunteers take sandwiches, water, coffee, snacks, a hot meal and other supplies to people living on the streets.
O’Connor was hesitant but agreed to join the group.
“That was the start of my life changing profoundly,” she said.
“I [usually] took pictures of beautiful things,” she continued. “I didn’t think there was anything there for me.
“But that day, I took the most beautiful pictures that I had ever taken.”
Through her lens
O’Connor wasn’t sure if she would participate in the ministry again.
But Sister Maria Dolores kept asking her to come back and take more pictures.
“Have you ever tried to say ‘no’ to a nun?” asked O’Connor. “It’s impossible!”
Two years and countless images later, O’Connor, a weekly volunteer with the street ministry, is sharing the photographs she’s captured with the wider community.
She published a coffee-table book, titled “You Did It To Me,” that’s filled with photos of the Sisters, volunteers and people they serve, along with simple descriptions and quotes.
O’Connor hopes the book will show the humanity of those experiencing homelessness and the Sisters who serve them.
All proceeds will be donated to the Sisters’ ministry. (See below for details.)
Sharing their burdens
On Oct. 21, the Sisters’ convent was bustling as they and a small group of volunteers prepared to head to the streets.
After gathering in the kitchen for a quick Hail Mary, they carried boxes of supplies to their cars, split into three groups and spent the afternoon serving people on both sides of the state line.
Those they encountered were as grateful for the social and spiritual nourishment as they were for the physical sustenance.
O’Connor believes the depth of their interactions wouldn’t be possible without the Sisters’ presence.
“Their habits are special, and they’re disarming,” she said. But it’s not just the habits that draw people in.
“[The Sisters have] built up so much goodwill because they’re nonjudgmental,” she said. “If you want to pray, you can pray. And if you don’t want to, you don’t have to.”
The group serves many of the same people week after week.
“You can almost see it in their face — a sense of trust,” said O’Connor, “and they can breathe for a minute because they know that these Sisters are good Sisters.
“The Sisters will carry their burden, if just for a moment, and give them a brief sense of peace and repose when their lives are complete chaos and they’re scared all the time.”
The food and supplies they bring are only a small part of the ministry.
“We say in our community that bringing food is just an excuse,” said Sister Rosemary of Jesus, PJC. “Of course, you need to support them in their physical needs. But the most important thing is to bring God to them.
“Most of them just want someone to listen to them. We don’t need to say anything. Just be there. That’s what the real meaning of serving on the streets is.”
Sister Joana of Jesus and Mary, PJC, recalled an experience at the mission in Brazil that shifted her perspective on the people they serve.
The Sisters were staying overnight on the streets for a week, begging alongside those living there.
“There was a boy, 13 years old, on the street,” said Sister Joana, “and there was another one who was taking care of him. He was 17. They were doing drugs at that time.
“That night, we slept on the street. I dreamed that boy was my brother — one of my blood brothers. It changed the way I see them, because [now] I always think it could be someone from my family there, sleeping on the street.
“How would I care for him if he was my brother who was there on the street? How would I treat him?”
Heart for the poor
The Sisters’ ministry wouldn’t be possible without the parishes that provide sandwiches and other supplies.
Our Lady of Unity Parish in Kansas City, Kansas, St. Michael the Archangel Parish in Leawood and Queen of the Holy Rosary Parish in Overland Park are three of them.
In August, O’Connor launched the ministry at St. Ann with longtime parishioner Paula Hollenbeck, who are cochairs of the parish’s Works of Mercy Committee.
Fourth grade teacher Kim Gigstad came up with the idea to get the St. Ann School students involved during the school day.
On Oct. 20, the fourth graders teamed up with a group of parishioners to make sandwiches.
Gigstad was excited to see the generations “coming together and bridging the gaps of our parish.”
“I think doing something so small and insignificant to [the students] is [a great way] to help people around them,” she said.
Father Mitchel Zimmerman, pastor of St. Ann, wants his parish to be known for its works of mercy.
“This is one of the most authentic ways to connect with our faith — serving others,” he said.
“As often as we can get our young people doing the works of mercy, it’s going to strengthen their faith,” he added. “Even little ways make a difference.”
Joyce Smith, a member of the St. Ann makers group and O’Connor’s kindergarten teacher, was excited to participate in the new ministry.
She never expected her former student to lead it, she said, “because she was so shy and quiet in kindergarten.”
“I think it’s absolutely marvelous, fantastic, all the superlatives you can think of,” said Smith, “because someone needs to help the homeless.
“I’m just so proud of Fallon for what she’s doing for the community.”
Approaching homelessness
O’Connor said she’s the last person anyone would expect to be involved in ministry.
“Honestly, if you would’ve told me 10 years ago that I would be heavily involved in my church and working with nuns and homeless people, [I wouldn’t have believed it either],” she said.
At one point, she thought she might become homeless herself.
“When I was in my early 20s, I really struggled with alcoholism,” said O’Connor. “It runs in my family.”
She was living in Los Angeles after college when her struggles deepened.
“My family was far away,” she said, “so they had no idea how deep I had progressed into that disease.
“There was a point when I knew I had to either stop drinking or live on Skid Row or become homeless. I was about to do that. But I didn’t.
“I went home instead and started my journey of sobriety.”
Her experience has helped her connect with the people she serves.
“I thought I would have nothing in common with homeless people,” said O’Connor. “And as it turns out, I have more in common with them than I do with most people that I meet.”
Many of the people she encounters are battling addiction and mental illness — two issues she said are often correlated.
“I realized that the only difference between me and them is that I came from an intact family who had money to throw at the problem,” she said.
“I could stop working for two years, and they would support me,” she continued. “I could go to therapy every day. They had the resources, and my family unit was still together and very close-knit.
“That was the difference between me and them. Other than that, I should’ve been them.”
Her encounters on the streets have been “devastating” and “thought-provoking,” she said, “because you come up against people who are truly in the worst spots of their life, dealing with deep sorrow as low as it gets.”
“I’ve never been in their shoes. I’ve never been homeless,” she said, “so, I don’t fully understand what they’re going through.
“But I’ve felt hopeless. I’ve felt darkness. I know what that feels like.
“[We’re there] to give them a little bit of hope.”
Change of heart
Faith and service have transformed O’Connor’s life.
She was raised Catholic and attended school at St. Ann but wasn’t religious until she met her husband in 2020. He encouraged her to look more deeply into the faith.
She began attending weekly Mass and eucharistic adoration. At first, she spent her time in the chapel bargaining with God.
But over the course of a year, “my heart kind of changed,” she said.
“My prayer changed from, ‘Make me a great artist’ to ‘Tell me what you want me to do, and I’ll do it,’” she said. “‘Use me in a way that you think I would be best suited to help the church.’”
Utilizing her talents to document the Sisters’ ministry has felt like an answer to that prayer.
And it’s brought her faith to life.
“The coolest part for me about this is that you get to do what Jesus did,” said O’Connor. “It takes the Gospel from 2D to 3D.”
An added bonus is the friendship she’s made with the Sisters.
“These nuns are young,” she said, “and they’re cool, too. They’re really funny.
“When you hang out with nuns, it’s hard to not become a better person. Their faith is contagious.”
Hollenbeck believes O’Connor is also a source of inspiration. She was instantly impressed by her passion for service.
“I have always been drawn to certain missionary saints,” said Hollenbeck. “This was like a living person relating to that and finding a way to work her life into works of mercy in the streets in our country.”
Filling the void
The men and women pictured in “You Did It To Me” are often smiling as they interact with O’Connor behind the camera.
She’s built a relationship with many and knows them by name.
But street ministry isn’t always photogenic.
“Sometimes, we see situations that kind of scare us,” said Sister Rosemary, “because it’s hard to see people suffering and the consequences of drug abuse.
“Sometimes, young and beautiful women are being mistreated because they are under the influence of some drug.”
Although they feel pulled to fix the issues, the Sisters have learned to adjust their expectations.
“They just cannot change the situation they are in,” said Sister Rosemary, “and sometimes, it’s frustrating.”
O’Connor believes many people struggling with addiction have “a hole in their heart,” which makes recovery difficult, particularly for people living on the streets.
“Something broke you at some point in your life so deeply,” she said, “and there’s so much shame and trauma that you can’t function.
“In order to get past that, you need someone to love you.”
For O’Connor, that love came from her mom and family.
“But these people on the street, a lot of them come from foster care,” she said. “A lot of them come from broken families.
“They have no one to love them, to be their advocate — their ride or die.”
Although the situations they witness can be heartbreaking, the Sisters said it doesn’t shake their faith.
“On the contrary, I think it gives more hope,” said Sister Rosemary. “Sometimes, we think maybe it’s not enough what we do. We could have more resources.
“Maybe we won’t change their lives in a concrete way. But we are changing their lives by bringing God to them.”
Hollenbeck is grateful that such a ministry exists in the archdiocese.
“To be present as the eyes of Christ, offering love and an image of God’s compassion in today’s world, is very rewarding,” she said.
O’Connor said street ministry isn’t for everyone.
But for her, it’s “the greatest treasure” she’s ever found.
“It’s the most beautiful, rewarding experience,” she said. “There’s nothing else like it.”
And the blessings that come from serving alongside the Sisters continue to surprise her.
“I thought that they were my service project,” she said. “But actually, I was their service project.
“They changed my life.”
Purchase ‘You Did It To Me’
“You Did It To Me” was created to be a family-friendly book for children old enough to understand homelessness, service and vocations.
Each person photographed approved of their image being published.
Father Mitchel Zimmerman, pastor of St. Ann Parish in Prairie Village, said the book “puts a local face on the problem of homelessness and poverty” and that “Fallon’s heart comes through with the pictures that she takes.”
“It shows the face of God,” he said. “It shows the heart of God.”
O’Connor hopes her work will give people a fresh perspective on a complex issue.
“I feel like it’s really easy to put [the homeless] in a stereotype,” she said. “‘These people need to get a job.’ ‘They’re freeloaders.’
“Same thing with nuns — it’s easy to put them on a pedestal and not see them as people when, in fact, they’re really just people like us.”
“You Did It To Me” was self-published and printed by KC Book Manufacturing. It costs $33, plus shipping and tax.
To purchase the book, visit the website at: youdidittome.com.
In Archbishop McKnight’s words
Archbishop Shawn McKnight wrote the foreword to “You Did It To Me.” He called it an “exceptional book” with photographic artistry that “extends our ability to see the impact of what religious women are doing in our day and on our streets, often on the fringes of our own social worlds.”
“It is a wonderful gift to peer into the world of these Sisters who spend their lives in service to the poor by quenching anguish, loneliness, hunger and thirst,” he wrote.
About the community
The Poor of Jesus Christ community was founded in Brazil in 2001 to serve the poor and those living on the periphery.
Their mission was established in Kansas 14 years ago. Five Sisters and two friars are currently serving here.
To learn more about the Sisters, visit the website at: sisterspoorofjesuschrist.com.
Commonly needed items
The Sisters gratefully accept donations for their street ministry. Useful items as winter approaches include: belts, blankets, coats, gloves, hats, hand warmers, hygiene products, plastic grocery bags and razors.
Donations can be dropped off at the Sisters’ convent, located at: 2226 Troup Ave., Kansas City, KS 66104. Checks made out to the Poor of Jesus Christ can be mailed to the same address.
Online donations are also accepted at: sisterspoorofjesuschrist.com/donate.
