Hope and God’s love guide those who help the poor, vulnerable
Scott Seibert and Phyllis Manfredi served as members of the archdiocese’s Catholic Charities’ poverty panel on Feb. 19 at the Archbishop Edward T. O’Meara Catholic Center in Indianapolis. (Photo by John Shaughnessy)
By John Shaughnessy
Phyllis Manfredi always makes a point of looking deeply into the face of a person.
It’s her way of trying to see into the heart of someone, believing that God has put that person in front of her at that moment for a reason.
That approach guides her efforts for the Indianapolis council of the St. Vincent de Paul Society, where she works to help people whose lives have been devastated by poverty, including a young woman with an artistic gift whose spirit had reached the point of being broken.
What happened next touched both their lives.
“She was struggling to find a job that would support her basic needs,” recalled Manfredi, who worked with the woman in the society’s Changing Lives Forever program. “One could feel her pain in her struggles. Because of all the rejections she had received in the job market, she was negative, and her words spoke of a lack of hope.”
During the 18 weeks of the Changing Lives Forever program, the young woman learned skills and insights that rebuilt her self-worth and her life.
“As the course progressed, she began to speak more, and her tone and words became less sharp,” Manfredi noted. “Upon graduation, she was positive, and she went on to become a Changing Lives Forever facilitator. She also succeeded in getting a job teaching, which was her dream. She continues to stay in touch, and her contacts are a blessing.”
That shared experience once again reinforced Manfredi’s commitment to helping people in need.
“To me, this was a reminder that poverty has many faces. Poverty should not be labeled as always being financial,” she said. “It is through listening and understanding that everyone has a story worth hearing.
“It is a matter of seeking God and asking that we are given the strength to be in the moment with the individual. We see their faces, we hear their words, and with God’s help we can have an influence in someone’s life.”
Manfredi believes God brings these people to her for another reason—the influence on her life.
“It gives one pause to stop and look at one’s own life and say, ‘Thank you, God.’ It redefines why we were placed on this Earth and why Our Lord came to us. Nothing is more important to me than serving and giving back what has been given to me—his love.”
Caring for the poor and vulnerable
Manfredi was part of a panel on poverty that was organized by the archdiocese’s Catholic Charities at the Archbishop Edward T. O’Meara Catholic Center in Indianapolis on Feb. 19.
The panel discussion was held “to address the reality of poverty impacting our seniors, children, veterans and those living within our urban and rural communities,” said Theresa Chamblee, director of Catholic Charities-Social Concerns for the archdiocese.
The panel discussion was part of the evening’s Poverty Awareness program. About 75 people attended the event, which also included representatives from 22 service organizations who shared their efforts to help people challenged by poverty in Indiana.
A 2025 United Way of Indiana report noted that 12% of all households in the state live below the poverty line, and 32% of children and young adults younger than 25 face that reality.
Chamblee said the foundation of the event was based on Pope Leo XIV’s first apostolic exhortation,“Dilexi Te” (“I Have Loved You”), which was issued on Oct. 4, 2025.
A passage from the exhortation has especially influenced her: “Love for the Lord, then, is one with love for the poor. This is not a matter of mere human kindness but a revelation. …” (#7)
“Pope Leo’s words reminded me that, yes, we will always have the poor with us, but that we can never become lukewarm in showing, through prayer, words and actions, that they matter and are worthy of love,” Chamblee said. “That is why Catholic Charities-Social Concerns felt the need to host a poverty panel—to serve as a reminder of the beautiful truth that to love the poor is to love Christ.”
Scott Seibert was another panel member who has strived to follow that approach in working with veterans affected by poverty.
Letting God’s love shine through us
“Serving veterans who are often poor, broken and forgotten has taught me what accompaniment truly means,” said Seibert, a clinical supervisor for the U.S. Department of Veteran Affairs. “There are days that are hard. Veterans can be disgruntled, grumpy and stubborn, but I am blessed to have them in my life. They teach me so much about Christ’s love and about the importance of family, friends, community and faith.”
His efforts always come back to the story of “a homeless veteran who was battling mouth cancer, recently divorced and estranged from his family.”
“We were able to connect him to medical care, secure housing, and over time, he mended relationships with his mother, sister, adult daughter and even his grandkids,” Seibert recalled. “Today, he’s been stably housed for five years. Seeing that transformation reminds me why this work matters.”
Seibert embraces his powerful bonds with veterans, saying that “working in this area has profoundly changed my life.”
“When I encounter someone who feels abandoned or shunned, I see Christ crucified in them,” he said. “It reminds me that love is not about convenience or comfort, it’s about presence—even in the messiness of life. My prayer each morning is that God gives me the eyes to see him in everyone I meet, and that his love shines through me and the work I do.”
That’s the approach Pope Leo wants every Catholic to embrace, Chamblee said. That’s the approach, she believes, that will make a difference in the lives of the people we help and in our own lives.
“They are the face of Christ to each of us. For the sake of each of our souls, we must never become stagnant in our love,” she said. “It can be a temptation to think that we are being the face of Christ to the poor to help them get to heaven.
“In reality, they are the face of Christ who is providing us the way to heaven.” †
Helping in the fight against poverty
The panel members for the “Poverty Awareness” program organized by the archdiocese’s Catholic Charities on Feb. 19 included these participants:
Phyllis Manfredi, a facilitator in the Changing Lives Forever program of the Society of St. Vincent de Paul-Indianapolis; Joyce Beaven, senior services director for Catholic Charities Indianapolis; Rachelle Frink, program director of Holy Family Shelter in Indianapolis; Michelle Radomsky, executive director of St. Mary’s Child Center in Indianapolis; Jennifer Tames, assistant agency director of Catholic Charities Terre Haute; and Scott Seibert, a clinical supervisor for the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs. †
