Juan de la Cruz

Halfway through the service, the Rev. Juan de la Cruz Turcios bounded out from behind the lectern with a sheet of paper in his hand and a winsome smile on his face.

Juan de la Cruz, who oversees the St. Bart’s meal service on behalf of New York’s Coalition for the Homeless, says many of his clients -- despite their deprivations -- don’t want to stay at city-run shelters.

Juan de la Cruz, who oversees the St. Bart’s meal service on behalf of New York’s Coalition for the Homeless, says many of his clients — despite their deprivations — don’t want to stay at city-run shelters.

As for Pope Francis, he defended Chilean prelate Juan de la Cruz Barros, naming him bishop of Osorno knowing full well that he had strong ties to Fernando Karadima, Chile’s most notorious predator-priest—this despite testimony from a victim of Karadima’s to the effect that Barros didn’t just know of the abuse but directly witnessed it.

Fort San Juan de la Cruz sits in Isla de Cabras Recreational Park, in the nearby town of Toa Baja.