Unfailing hospitality

Carol Rosen of Bowie, one of the volunteers who prepare and serve lunch at Viva House, talks in the kitchen with a guest.

A guest holds his ticket for lunch, which is served on Wednesdays and Thursdays.

John Harrison eats lunch at Viva House, a West Baltimore soup kitchen founded by Catholic Worker husband-and-wife team Brendan Walsh and Willa Bickham.

Bickham hands a cup of iced tea to a visitor.

Viva House has been in operation in West Baltimore for 49 years.

‘I love it. It's a blessing,” says Tyrone Black, a resident of Southwest Baltimore, as he enjoys a hearty casserole while chatting with a friend in one of the dining rooms at Viva House, a soup kitchen at 26 S. Mount St.

Viva House was founded in 1968 by Brendan Walsh and Willa Bickham, a husband-and-wife team who are part of the Catholic Worker movement. With the help of dozens of dedicated volunteers, they have served hundreds of nourishing meals every Wednesday and Thursday in an atmosphere of friendship and dignity.

The world outside the soup kitchen can be harsh and unforgiving, but inside Viva House, visitors find hospitality, love and acceptance.

“It is amazing that even after almost half a century we are still standing. Often people ask, ‘Has your work been successful?' The simple answer is that we have not achieved success the way most people define it. However, we have not given up our hope. That is our success,” said Walsh.