Eight hundred years ago in the Umbrian Valley north of Rome, wandered Francis Bernadone and a small group of rag tag brothers of penance. At first, the local population looked with scorn at these young men from Assisi, who gave up wealth and prestigious future careers to follow Francis. Over time, the brothers won over the hearts of many as they tended to the needs of the lepers and led lives of solidarity with the poor with humility and joy. When villagers saw Francis and his brothers walking toward them, they would say: “Here comes ‘Il Pov-erello’ (the little poor man.)” Over the centuries “Poverello” has been a name used in ministries with the poor in the Franciscan tradition.

On October 29, 2008, Poverello House of Tucson opened its doors and invited homeless men to come in off the street for a day to sit down, decompress, get cleaned up and have healthy meals in a homelike environment. Poverello House of Tuson was founded by Br. David Buer, ofm, a Franciscan Brother who for many years ministered to the homeless and those living in poverty. Br. David was first introduced to the concept of a Poverello House in The Tenderloin of San Francisco, California in the early 90’s. Having establishing two Poverello Houses in Nevada, it was not surprising that that when in 2005, he was assigned to Tucson, Br. David envisioned a Poverello House here.