Stephen
Ryan-Vuotto was 14 and had recently lost his father to lung cancer when
a priest in his Greenwich Village parish began inviting him to sleep
over at the rectory. His mother was happy, he recalled, because she
revered priests.
In
particular, she loved the Rev. Robert V. Lott, the man who had
befriended her son. He had ministered to the boy’s dying father, and was
starting charitable organizations. Before his death in 2002, Father
Lott’s reputation grew, as he led an effort to build hundreds of
low-income housing units in East Harlem. To this day, an assisted living
center, a home health care organization, a community development
corporation and a charitable foundation in East Harlem are named for
him.