Father Maurice Chase celebrated his 90th birthday on St. Patrick’s Day by giving away green — and plenty of it.
The Catholic priest took US$15,000 in cash to Skid Row on Tuesday and distributed it to hundreds of the city’s most down-and-out residents outside the Fred Jordan Missions. Twenty wheelchair-bound people received crisp US$100 bills, while the rest received between US$1 and US$3 each.
“This is the Lord’s work,” Chase said as he shuffled along the motley assemblage watched over by police officers. “I come out here to tell them that God loves them and I love them, that someone is concerned about them.”
Chase is an institution in Skid Row, where he has given away cash, plastic rosaries and blessings every Sunday on the same corner for 24 years. A throng of several hundred people waits for him every week, lined up in the order that he sees as putting the most vulnerable first: handicapped, women and children, couples and single men.
He makes a point of coming on Thanksgiving and Christmas, too, but this is the first year he’s spent his birthday in the downtown neighborhood where people live mainly in shelters and on urine-stained sidewalks.
“It’s the place that makes me the happiest. I just love it,” said Chase, who wore a Notre Dame baseball cap and a patched, fraying cardigan over his clergy shirt. “I look forward to coming here.”
The money comes from donations he receives from rich and famous people he met during his long tenure as assistant to the president of Loyola Marymount University. They include philanthropist Eli Broad; Dolores Hope, Bob Hope’s widow; Barbara Sinatra, Frank Sinatra’s widow; and Bob and Ginnie Newhart, he said.
The California native retired from Loyola about a decade ago.
The crowd broke into choruses of “Happy Birthday” several times. A few regulars presented him birthday cards, to his delight.
Travis Kemp, a 51-year-old double amputee with long wavy black hair, was one of the lucky 20 to receive US$100. He said he had no special plans for spending the cash.
“He has a lot of respect from me,” Kemp said. “I know I couldn’t do it.”
Others noted that outsiders usually come to donate food on Skid Row.
“They never give money,” said Lawrence Landry, who’s lived on Skid Row for the past year after losing his job. “This is unusual.”
Annette Matthys, who’s trying to wean herself from a crack cocaine habit, said she lines up every week and usually receives US$1 or US$2 from Chase. She uses the money to buy cigarettes or do her laundry.
“He’s got a heart,” said the 56-year-old woman, who sleeps on the sidewalk when she can’t find a shelter bed. “I never saw anyone like him. Some people are generous, but this guy ... I can’t even describe it.”
FRAUD ALLEGED: The leader of an opposition alliance made allegations of electoral irregularities and called for a protest in Tirana as European leaders are to meet Albanian Prime Minister Edi Rama’s Socialist Party scored a large victory in parliamentary elections, securing him his fourth term, official results showed late on Tuesday. The Socialist Party won 52.1 percent of the vote on Sunday compared with 34.2 percent for an alliance of opposition parties led by his main rival Sali Berisha, according to results released by the Albanian Central Election Commission. Diaspora votes have yet to be counted, but according to initial results, Rama was also leading there. According to projections, the Socialist Party could have more lawmakers than in 2021 elections. At the time, it won 74 seats in the
A Croatian town has come up with a novel solution to solve the issue of working parents when there are no public childcare spaces available: pay grandparents to do it. Samobor, near the capital, Zagreb, has become the first in the country to run a “Grandmother-Grandfather Service,” which pays 360 euros (US$400) a month per child. The scheme allows grandparents to top up their pension, but the authorities also hope it will boost family ties and tackle social isolation as the population ages. “The benefits are multiple,” Samobor Mayor Petra Skrobot told reporters. “Pensions are rather low and for parents it is sometimes
CONTROVERSY: During the performance of Israel’s entrant Yuval Raphael’s song ‘New Day Will Rise,’ loud whistles were heard and two people tried to get on stage Austria’s JJ yesterday won the Eurovision Song Contest, with his operatic song Wasted Love triumphing at the world’s biggest live music television event. After votes from national juries around Europe and viewers from across the continent and beyond, JJ gave Austria its first victory since bearded drag performer Conchita Wurst’s 2014 triumph. After the nail-biting drama as the votes were revealed running into yesterday morning, Austria finished with 436 points, ahead of Israel — whose participation drew protests — on 357 and Estonia on 356. “Thank you to you, Europe, for making my dreams come true,” 24-year-old countertenor JJ, whose
CANCER: Jose Mujica earned the moniker ‘world’s poorest president’ for giving away much of his salary and living a simple life on his farm, with his wife and dog Tributes poured in on Tuesday from across Latin America following the death of former Uruguayan president Jose “Pepe” Mujica, an ex-guerrilla fighter revered by the left for his humility and progressive politics. He was 89. Mujica, who spent a dozen years behind bars for revolutionary activity, lost his battle against cancer after announcing in January that the disease had spread and he would stop treatment. “With deep sorrow, we announce the passing of our comrade Pepe Mujica. President, activist, guide and leader. We will miss you greatly, old friend,” Uruguayan President Yamandu Orsi wrote on X. “Pepe, eternal,” a cyclist shouted out minutes later,
RSS