Bernardine Dupre finds community and purpose at St. Joseph’s
Bernardine Dupre worked for 48 years in job placement and unemployment with the state of Louisiana, and a year before she retired, her husband Emilo became ill and passed away. She approached Fr. Tom Stehlik, C.M., Pastor at St. Joseph’s Church at the time, about volunteer work and began working at the Rebuild Center, which serves homeless guests with various services, like meals and hot showers.
“It’s similar to what I was doing before—helping people in a time of need,” she said. “I’m inspired by Matthew 25, ‘What you do to the least of my brothers, you do to me.’ A lot of that comes from working with the Vincentians.”
Bernardine also works with families on the day of a funeral to make sure they have what they need, is a Eucharistic Minister, serves on the Vincentian Social Justice Committee, and cooks occasional meals for Hotel Hope, a shelter for homeless women with children. She admires the spirituality of those that she serves.
“I’ve learned to respect them by hearing their stories and understanding what happened to them,” she said. “Their spirituality inspires me. They see a future for themselves in religion. It makes me realize there is a future for me, too.”