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William Lori Starts His Term As Baltimore's New Archbishop By Serving Food To The Needy

BALTIMORE (WJZ)-- Wednesday was a ritual. Thursday, it's the first day on the job for Baltimore's new archbishop.

Alex DeMetrick reports it was spent among the diocese's most desperate.

The ceremony installed William Lori as Baltimore's 16th archbishop. But Wednesday's ritual in vestments and mitre were traded in the next day for a hairnet and apron at Our Daily Bread Hot Meal Program for Archbishop Lori's first day on the job.

"It's an amazing place, and I'm just glad to be a part of this," Lori said.

Away from cameras, Lori met with some who are glad to have a place like this.

"It says in the Bible, 'Feed the poor,' and we got a lot of poor in this town," Steve McCray of Baltimore said.

"The good work that's going on is a real boost my first day on the job," Lori said.

This first-hand look at the church's charitable work is also a crash course in the tough times some in the diocese are facing.

"And this is where it starts-- where the homeless is at-- right there at Our Daily Bread, where we eat at every day," Anita Rouzer of Baltimore said.

"A lot of people are struggling, are suffering. And the Daily Bread kitchen does a lot of good. So it will give him a chance to see what goes on in Baltimore City," Nathaniel Stewart of Baltimore said.

Not that Lori hasn't seen need before. There were poor in his previous posting in Bridgeport, Conn.

"In this place, there's an effort to bring people a sense of their own dignity, and put them on the road to being able to sustain themselves," he said.

It's a goal many of those being served, share.

"Baltimore is a rich town in many ways. It has a rich history. But we got a lot of people who aren't working, and it would be nice if we could get some jobs here," McCray said.

"My motto is charity and truth, and I saw my motto today, right here," Lori said.

Our Daily Bread is one of the many outreach programs in Maryland run by Catholic Charities.

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