A Letter from the Director:
Rudy Grigar
Francis Center continues to thrive and meet the ever increasing demand for services in our community. Francis Center's 68 volunteers serve our neighbors with food and clothing with the aim of spreading joy, peace, and respect - all God given rights.
We continue to serve nearly 900 households per month.
At this pace we will help feed and clothe more than 10,000 households (25,000 persons) this year.
We have made several improvements to our operation this year. We implemented a new intake system from the Oregon Food Bank ... Service Insights on Meal Connect.
SIMC will continue to help us access the food we need to help our neighbors.
We purchased a new more efficient van. This vehicle will enable us to pick up and deliver our food for years to come.
We were able to replace the old leaky windows on our upper floor of the main house. This will help keep our inventory of clothing clean and dry.
All these improvements are made possible by our many generous donors. I am confident that Francis Center will continue to serve hope everyday.
As St. Francis prayed, "Lord, make me an instrument of your peace". I believe our volunteers and donors are bringing that peace and hope into our community.
Volunteer Spotlight :
Fr. Pat Evard, OFM
FATHER PAT EVARD 1/29/1932 - 1/30/2026
Patrick Michael Evard was born on January 29, 1932, and was adopted shortly after birth. Pat grew up in Indianapolis. He attended Cathedral High School, where he began to show the work ethic and sense of responsibility that would remain with him throughout his life. Even as a young man, Pat was drawn to the idea of becoming a priest. He was especially attracted to the service aspect of religious life: the chance to help people directly and live for something larger than himself.
After high school, Pat attended St. Joseph's College in Indiana. His studies were interrupted when he was drafted at age 20 into the United States Army. He served for two years in Korea. After completing his military service, he returned to St. Joseph's College and graduated with a business degree. Following college, Pat moved to Los Angeles and worked for several years in the advertising industry.
He came to believe that there had to be more to life than the conventional pursuit of career advancement. That realization became a turning point. Pat eventually left advertising and entered the Seminary with the Franciscan Friars in Indiana. Pat continued on the path to the priesthood and was ordained in January 1967 at age 35. As a Franciscan priest, Father Pat served in several ministries. In the late 1960s, he was assigned to St. Francis Parish in Sacramento, where he was the Pastor and school principal. He later transferred to St. Clare Catholic Church in Portland.
He became Director at Francis Center in 1979, where he served for 37 years. The Francis Center, originally founded in 1967 by Franciscan priests. Fr. Pat continued his work with Francis Center until suffering a stroke in 2016. He then moved to the Mercy Retirement Center in Oakland, California, where he lived until his passing on January 30, 2026, the day after his 94th birthday.
Father Pat's life was marked by service, humility, and faith. From his childhood in Indianapolis to his military service in Korea, from the business world of Los Angeles to the Franciscan priesthood, he followed a path that steadily led him toward service to others. His work, especially through Francis Center, reflected the values that had first drawn him toward the priesthood: compassion, simplicity, and a desire to help those most in need.