{"id":293825,"date":"2026-06-19T09:23:18","date_gmt":"2026-06-19T14:23:18","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/christianchronicle.org\/?p=293825"},"modified":"2026-06-19T23:38:59","modified_gmt":"2026-06-20T04:38:59","slug":"my-dad-my-dad","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/christianchronicle.org\/my-dad-my-dad\/","title":{"rendered":"Church helps homeless son of late Yankees TV cameraman"},"content":{"rendered":"

HOUSTON<\/strong> \u2014\u00a0When Maurice Costabile first showed up at a Houston church a few years ago, members had no clue his late father, Duilio, was a beloved TV cameraman dubbed the \u201cMayor of Yankee Stadium.\u201d<\/a><\/p>\n

They had no idea his late mother, Maria Landa, was an Ivy League-educated psychologist.<\/a><\/p>\n

They just knew the son of Cuban immigrants looked homeless \u2014\u00a0and desperately needed a bath.<\/p>\n

\u201cI mean, Jesus is for everyone,\u201d said David Duncan,<\/a> preaching minister for the Memorial Church of Christ,<\/a> which averages Sunday attendance of about 800. \u201cNobody\u2019s going to be turned away. And he obviously had some very dire needs.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI mean, Jesus is for everyone. Nobody\u2019s going to be turned away.\u201d<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Costabile, 59, who battles a variety of physical and mental health issues, saw a banner advertising the congregation at Houston\u2019s Memorial City Mall.\u00a0<\/a><\/p>\n

He walked 1.3 miles from the shopping center to the church building, just off Interstate 10.<\/p>\n

\u201cLet\u2019s be honest: There have been conversations where people are like, \u2018He doesn\u2019t need to be here. It\u2019s not safe for our kids,\u2019\u201d said Mike Avery, Memorial\u2019s community minister. \u201cSome people don\u2019t want him around. But that\u2019s because the church is human, right? And they\u2019re scared, and they\u2019re fearful.<\/p>\n

\"Maurice<\/a>

Maurice Costabile enjoys a moment of relaxation at the Memorial Church of Christ in Houston.<\/p><\/div>\n

\u201cBut I\u2019m happy that our church overall has really worked to help him and not kick him out,\u201d Avery added. \u201cSo we\u2019re really trying, and we\u2019re not going to give up on him.\u201d<\/p>\n

Avery helped Costabile connect with Houston law enforcement\u2019s Homeless Outreach Team<\/a> and has taken him to medical appointments.<\/p>\n

However, finding a long-term solution off the streets has proven more difficult. Costabile\u2019s lack of official documents, such as a birth certificate or a Social Security card, complicates applying for government benefits.<\/p>\n\n\t\t

\n\t\t\t<\/promotion-zone>\n\t\t\t<\/promotion-zone>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\n

\u201cWe tried to get him into a halfway house,\u201d Avery said, \u201cbut he only lasted a few days because it\u2019s made for people who can take care of themselves physically, and he can\u2019t do that.\u201d<\/p>\n

To make Costabile more presentable for worship, the congregation began renting a hotel room to give him a shower before the Sunday service.<\/p>\n

\u201cHe knows how to survive on the street, but he\u2019s in terrible health,\u201d Duncan said. \u201cIt\u2019s not that you can save everybody, but when somebody comes into your church building, I think you have a responsibility to help.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s not that you can save everybody, but when somebody comes into your church building, I think you have a responsibility to help.\u201d<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

‘Maurice is God’s child’<\/h2>\n

With more than 25 nationalities represented in the pews, the Memorial congregation reflects the diversity of Houston.<\/a><\/p>\n

Church volunteers \u2014 including an 83-year-old Jamaican immigrant named Sadie Powell and a 38-year-old Russian immigrant named Yulia Merchant \u2014 lead the effort to help Costabile.<\/p>\n

On a typical Saturday night, Merchant, a nurse practitioner, and her three school-age sons pick up food for Costabile from Spencer Prather, one of Memorial\u2019s children\u2019s ministers.<\/p>\n

\"The<\/a>

The Memorial Church of Christ in Houston rents a hotel room to give Maurice Costabile a shower.<\/p><\/div>\n

Then the mother and boys give Costabile a ride from the church building to the hotel, where they connect with Powell.<\/p>\n

Costabile has leg wounds caused by lymphedema.<\/a><\/p>\n

\u201cWe shower him together, and after his shower, I change any wound dressings, if needed, and wrap his legs,\u201d said Merchant, who also spearheaded the launch<\/a> of Memorial\u2019s thriving ministry for Ukrainian refugees. \u201cHe usually gets a very good night\u2019s sleep at the hotel.\u201d<\/p>\n

On Sunday morning, Merchant makes sure Costabile has breakfast and drives him to worship. Powell takes him to lunch.<\/p>\n

Costabile has the mind of a child and can\u2019t care for himself, Merchant said.<\/p>\n

\u201cIf that would be my child, and God would take me to heaven, I would want my child to be taken care of,\u201d she said of her motivation. \u201cAnd Maurice is God\u2019s child.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\t\t

\n\t\t\t<\/promotion-zone>\n\t\t\t<\/promotion-zone>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\n

A missing person<\/h2>\n

Costabile told church members that he and his mother were living in an extended-stay hotel during the pandemic.<\/a> But then she got into an accident and later died of COVID-19, he said.<\/p>\n

After he wandered away from the hospital, loved ones filed a missing person report<\/a> in 2021.<\/p>\n

\u201cBut the people who filed that have since died,\u201d Avery said.<\/p>\n

\n\n
\n

Memorial leaders pray that publicity about Costabile might alert relatives to his whereabouts and prompt them to contact the church.<\/p>\n

\u201cYou got some new clothes,\u201d Duncan, the preaching minister, said as he greeted Costabile in the church office this week.<\/p>\n

\u201cYeah,\u201d Costabile replied before turning the conversation to recent heavy rains in Houston.<\/a> \u201cIt\u2019s very bad weather out. The other day, there was a lot of thunder.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"Maurice<\/a>

Maurice Costabile enjoys a meal with a church member.<\/p><\/div>\n

\u201cI just can\u2019t believe that you\u2019re wearing a Mets hat,\u201d Duncan teased, noting that Costabile\u2019s father, who died in 2001,<\/a> worked for the Yankees. \u201cDo you like the Mets better?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cYeah,\u201d Costabile replied. \u201cThey\u2019re very, very, very nice people.\u201d<\/p>\n

Duncan introduced me to Costabile.<\/p>\n\n\t\t

\n\t\t\t<\/promotion-zone>\n\t\t\t<\/promotion-zone>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\n

\u201cMr. Ross, like the store?\u201d Costabile replied, referring to the Ross Dress for Less<\/a> chain. \u201cI heard of that. It\u2019s a good store.\u201d<\/p>\n

As Powell discussed Costabile\u2019s mental health concerns, he interjected, \u201cI may be bipolar, but I\u2019m pretty intelligent on stuff.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cExtremely intelligent,\u201d Powell agreed.<\/p>\n

\"Maurice<\/a>

Maurice Costabile poses for a picture after getting a haircut and a shave at Great Clips.<\/p><\/div>\n

‘Is this guy … an angel?’<\/h2>\n

Avery describes Costabile as friendly with the mindset of a 7-year-old.<\/p>\n

\u201cHe loves to color and draw airplane cockpits, and he draws them to scale,\u201d Avery said. \u201cAnd his memory is incredible as far as things that happened a long time ago.<\/p>\n

\u201cBut I always wonder: Is this guy like an angel? Or is it like, he\u2019s one of \u2018the least of these,\u2019 and God is testing us?\u201d the community minister added, alluding to Matthew 25<\/a>. \u201cSometimes I wonder about that, but he\u2019s really an interesting guy.\u201d<\/p>\n

David Bean, another Memorial member active in helping Costabile, came across a documentary video<\/a> recounting his father\u2019s camera work with the Yankees.<\/p>\n

\"Duilio<\/a>

Duilio Costabile, left, shares a laugh with Yankees first base coach Jos\u00e9 Cardenal in the 2007 documentary \u201cDuilio: Home Movies From The Bronx.\u201d (Video still via YouTube. Warning: Video contains R-rated language.)<\/p><\/div>\n

Duilio Costabile worked alongside Yankees greats Phil Rizzuto<\/a> and Bobby Murcer.<\/a><\/p>\n

Bean played the video for Maurice Costabile.<\/p>\n

\u201cAt first, it made me really sad because I know this life is not what his parents would have wanted for him,\u201d Duncan said. \u201cBut it also made me think that maybe there are people out there who know him and want to help him.<\/p>\n

\u201cBut secondly and momentarily, it made me really happy that he had an opportunity to see a video with his dad, whom he hadn\u2019t seen in many years,\u201d the minister added. \u201cIt brought real joy to him. He kept saying, \u2018My dad! My dad!’\u201d<\/p>\n

\"Maurice<\/a>

Maurice Costabile visits with a reporter at the Memorial Church of Christ in Houston as Sadie Powell listens.<\/p><\/div>\n

BOBBY ROSS JR. <\/b>is Editor-in-Chief of\u00a0The Christian Chronicle.<\/i>\u00a0Ross writes the\u00a0Weekend Plug-in column<\/a>\u00a0for\u00a0Religion Unplugged,\u00a0<\/i>where this piece originally appeared. Reach him at\u00a0bobby@christianchronicle.org.<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

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