It is hard to believe that it is now five years since my dear friend and Good Counsel co-founder, Father Benedict Groeschel, CFR, passed away. He died on October 3, 2014 on the eve of the feast of St. Francis of Assisi.

Before his passing, when I asked for his advice, Fr. Benedict told me to “just grow.”  So that’s what we continue to do.  With your prayers & generosity, more homeless, pregnant mothers and babies are helped each year.

• Good Counsel has provided shelter and support to over 7,800 women since 1985.
• 1,195 babies have been born to mothers living at our homes since 1985.  35 babies have been born in 2019 so far!
• Over 755,462 days of help and nights of shelter have been provided to homeless mothers and their children.
• More than 40,000 people have been assited through our 24/7 helpline since it began in April of 1996.

As a Franciscan, Father Benedict always had a love for the poor, and an outreach of this love was to help start Good Counsel Homes. He often would say that here in America the poorest of the poor are the babies born to a homeless woman or a pregnant woman with a mental illness or substance abuse problem. He also often said that Good Counsel’s Daystar home was his “favorite” because it was one of only a few in the country that would take in pregnant women with such conditions.

On this anniversary of Father Benedict’s death will you consider praying for Father Benedict and making a memorial gift to Good Counsel?  Would you help Good Counsel to “just grow?”

Father Benedict would often say, “Pray for me after I am gone!” and I know you will continue to do so as I am, too. Here is a short video that I did at the crypt where Father Benedict is laid to rest at Most Blessed Sacrament Friary in Newark, New Jersey. Please feel free to watch and offer a prayer for our friend.

Peace,

President
Good Counsel