Introducing Father Tom Composto and the Saint Francis Center in Reservoir Hill

Ellen and I attend church at the St Francis Center where Father Tom Composto conducts mass. He lives in an apartment above the center. A retired college professor in his seventies, Fr Tom has resided in Reservoir Hill for over 45 years and has seen the neighborhood through all the changes with the times. The congregation is small and made up of primarily of African Americans from the neighborhood as well as those who used to live in Reservoir Hill.

His masses are brief and to the point. His homilies are even shorter and he has his notes in his trademark yellow pad. He plays the organ with a flourish. The hymnal is a binder of 60's hits such as "We may never pass this way again" and "Put your hands in the hand". We are in an out in less than 40 minutes. He will hold service for as few as one as in a number of occasions when Ellen is out of town and no one else is present. He and I will sing duets!

The center is a block from RHHP and is home to tutoring programs, a computer lab and occasional Narcotic Anonymous marathon group sessions. Neighborhood groups also use the center as a meeting place.

He makes it his business to keep an eye on the goings on in the neighborhood including the drug dealers who ply their trade along Whitelock Street. On weekends, Fr Tom plays a baby grand piano and sings show tunes at Vinny's Cafe, an Italian restaurant in Dundalk, a blue collared neighborhood in east Baltimore. He also hires out for parties.