On the longest night of the year, downtown Detroit shelter to remember lives lost to the elements in the past year

DETROIT — The Pope Francis Center is organizing a memorial service for people who might have felt long-forgotten in life.

On Dec. 21, the longest night of the year, the downtown Detroit homeless resource center will host a memorial service at 5 p.m. at SS. Peter and Paul (Jesuit) Church, 629 E. Jefferson Ave., for homeless people who have died in 2019.

The service is part of a nationwide movement to recognize the lives of homeless men and women who died on the streets.

“Every year, we have a casket that is provided by a local funeral home, symbolizing all the lives that have been lost,” said Mary McEvoy, director of institutional advancement for the Pope Francis Center, which neighbors SS. Peter and Paul. “Often, when people die on the streets, the body is taken to a city morgue, and there is no opportunity for guests in the community to grieve, for those who love them to be at a funeral service.”

The memorial service will include the lighting of a candle for every life lost and a reading of the names of each deceased person. The Pope Francis Center has reached out to other homeless shelters and service providers in the area to add names to the list.

Twenty-three names were read at last year’s service, and McEvoy said at least six Pope Francis Center guests are part of this year's memorial service, in addition to names from other facilities.

Volunteers and members of the community will place pictures of the deceased on the church's main altar. Fr. Tim McCabe, SJ, executive director of the Pope Francis Center, will incense the pictures during the service, but the service will not be exclusively Catholic, as the Pope Francis Center hosts guests of various denominations.

“The longest night of the year really represents the greatest difficulty faced by the homeless community as it gets colder,” McEvoy said. “It tend to be extremely cold in a climate like Michigan, and it’s the deadliest time of year. So we remember those who have died, and their struggles. It’s a life-and-death struggle. And it’s important, as people on the streets become more invisible to others this season, that we take time to honor and remember their lives.”