By Christina Gray
A few weeks after Catholic San Francisco featured a story on “Aging in Faith”, I received a call from Father Rick Van De Water, the pastor of St. Thomas More Church in San Francisco. He complimented me on the story and its resources for supporting aging Catholics.
My story lamented the closure of two longtime Catholic-run assisted care facilities – St. Anne’s Home in San Francisco earlier this year and Nazareth House in San Rafael four years ago. The closures seemed to mark the end of options for Catholic residential care for Catholic families, at least within the Archdiocese of San Francisco. The story highlighted Catholic support for senior citizens offered by Catholic Charities of San Francisco.
“Do you know about Alma Via?” Father Van De Water inquired. I did know it was one of two assisted care facilities by that name offering continuing care within the boundaries of the Archdiocese of San Francisco: San Francisco and San Rafael. I had toured the San Rafael facility when I was considering my own mother’s care a few years ago. Both locations are run by Elder Care Alliance, a nonprofit built upon the legacy of care brought to the Bay Area by the Mercy Sisters in 1907.
What I did not know until Father Van De Water told me was that Alma Via San Francisco sits in close proximity to the entrance of his parish church. In many (unofficial) ways, Alma Via San Francisco has become a retirement destination for Catholics in San Francisco, including men and women religious, he said. A resident sister there organizes and leads a rosary group.
The proximity blurs the lines somewhat between the two facilities from a faith perspective. The multiethnic shrines ringing the perimeter of the church can be viewed from some windows in Alma Via. They are easily accessible to those Alma Via residents with a rolling walker.
Father Van De Water is not the spiritual adviser to Alma Via residents, but he celebrates Mass twice a week for its many Catholic residents. They include retired San Francisco Auxiliary Bishop Ignatius C. Wang, retired Santa Rosa Bishop Daniel F. Walsh, countless former pastors and several Presentation Sisters.
While not Catholic run, the “Alma Vias” prioritize spiritual well-being, according to spiritual adviser Bridget Casey.
“I’m here to support the spirituality of the residents,” she said. This can mean arranging for local priests, chaplains, ministers, rabbis, deacons, monks and others to support residents in their faith tradition in a variety of forms.
“A big part of why there are so many priests at Alma Via is that one or two in residence attract more,” said Rachel Alvelais, care manager for archdiocesan clergy and manager of Serra Clergy House. “They enjoy having meals together and being a community. Word gets out, and soon Alma Via becomes the place where retired priests live.”
I remember my own mother’s smile when she saw a chapel in the San Rafael location. I saw firsthand how the lack of access to their faith practices amplifies the difficulties of aging for lifelong Catholics no longer able to drive or with limited mobility or independence. They are in many real ways separated from the faith that sustained them throughout their lives.
In our phone call, Father Van De Water invited me to come to a Mass at Alma Via to experience the community myself. I took him up on it, by complete coincidence, on Aug. 14, the feast day of St. Maximillian Kolbe, a Polish priest who offered his life in place of another man at the Auschwitz concentration camp during World War II. Before Mass began, Father Van De Water held up Catholic San Francisco magazine and introduced me as its lead writer. I recognized many of the faces that smiled back at me – some now from wheelchairs – from interviews I’d conducted over the past 13 years.
“We’re so happy that she can come and join us today and also encourage us as we gather together in the name of the Lord,” he said. “We are so happy you are here.”
Father Van De Water spoke about God’s plan in the story of St. Kolbe, noting that he was a journalist who in 1922 started a Catholic magazine, Knights of the Immaculata, a publication that exists to this day.
“This encourages us of course because we see that we are all in God’s hands,” he said. “Let us pray for this community of Alma Via and all communities likewise who gather together to worship the Lord and encourage one another in this journey of life.”
Visit eldercarealliance.org for more information about Alma Via.
Christina Gray is the lead writer for Catholic San Francisco.
