BIDDEFORD — On Wednesday, Bishop Robert Deeley sat on a seat built for 5- and 6-year-olds and read a Christmas story to a group of young children.
The children were thrilled to be read to by the man in charge of the Diocese of Portland. But they also felt comfortable enough to interrupt the friendly man.
For his part, Deeley seemed to thoroughly enjoy meeting, speaking with and laughing with the children.
The visit to the St. Louis Child Development Center, a program of the diocese’s social-service arm Catholic Charities Maine, was in keeping with the bishop’s goal to view as many of the Catholic Charities’ 25 programs as he can.
He said he wanted to visit the childcare center close to Christmas time, because “it reminds us that these kinds of facilities take care of children year-round.”
Prior to Thanksgiving, he visited a food bank that Catholic Charities operates in northern Maine, which provides food to several dozen food pantries.
The bishop said he timed that visit “to remind people that food insecurity is a year-round need.”
“This is a very special place for our children,” said Deeley of the childcare center. “It provides them the opportunity to be able to be with each other and be able to grow.
“This child development center creates hope and nurtures the dreams of our children who deserve the best guidance and strongest community of support that we can provide,” he said.
The bishop’s visit “verifies his commitment” to the center, said Todd Winship, the director of childcare services for Catholic Charities Maine.
The St. Louis Child Development Center provides programs for infants 6 weeks old to children 7 years old, regardless of income.
More than 120 youngsters attend the center, which “provides high-quality programs for children,” said Winship.
“It’s a safe place,” he said, “and we have fun … We want smiles on their faces.”
When a child “feels love and compassion and hope, it stays with you,” said Winship.
The childcare center has been in existence for 38 years, he said, and for some of those years, the center had a tarnished reputation.
But seven years ago, it constructed the new facility on Pool Street and moved in.
Since then, it has become accredited by the Council on Accreditation ”“ the only childcare provider in Maine to do so, said Winship. In addition, the center has received a Step 4 rating, which is Maine’s highest, from the State of Maine Quality Rating Registry.
“If we can get a parent through the front door,” he said, “we have a 95 percent chance of enrolling their child. Very few people see what we offer and don’t choose to sign up.”
The center delivers early learning programs focused on imparting communication, literacy and math skills, as well as safe indoor and outdoor activities, he said. Community and family cultures, values and traditions are also crucial components of the curriculum, according to Winship.
— Staff Writer Dina Mendros can be contacted at 282-1535, ext. 324 or [email protected].
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