Pope welcomes 1,300 lunch guests on World Day of the Poor

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Source: Vatican News, Joseph Rowntree Trust

Pope Francis welcomed 1,300 poor people to the Vatican for a special lunch in the Paul VI Audience Hall today, Sunday 17 November.

At the meal, the Holy Father expressed his gratitude to all those in dioceses and parishes around the world who run projects assisting people in need. This special lunch was offered by the Italian Red Cross with around 340 volunteers serving the meal.

The meal included a choice of lasagna with vegetables, beef meatloaf stuffed with spinach and cheese, mashed potatoes, fruit, and dessert.

Afterwards, each person was given a backpack put together by the Vincentian Fathers (Congregation of the Mission), containing food and personal hygiene products.

Earlier, during the Angelus, Pope Francis mentioned that it was World Day of the Poor, with this year's theme being: 'The prayer of the poor rises up to God.' He said we can all ask ourselves these questions: "Do I go without something in order to give it to the poor? When I give alms, do I touch the hand of the poor person and look him or her in the eyes? Brothers and sisters, let us not forget that the poor cannot wait!"

Cardinal Konrad Krajewski, the Papal Almoner and Prefect of the Dicastery for the Service of Charity, which organised the banquet, said Pope Francis never tires of repeating this annual gesture: simply to follow the example of Jesus, "to restore dignity to people."

Rosario Valastro, president of an association that distributes products and food parcels daily to help the homeless in response to the needs and requirements of so many people, emphasised the value of the beauty that lies in simple things and small gestures. "May their living on the margins of society, in solitude, not make them invisible to our eyes, nor erase their human dignity."

Today also marks the culmination of the efforts made by the Dicastery for Evangelisation over the past week, which has provided for the needs of the neediest with various charitable initiatives, including, the payment of bills for the neediest families through contacts with parishes. This initiative was made possible through the traditional generosity of Italy's UnipolSai insurance company. The Madre di Misericordia (Mother of Mercy) outpatient clinic that works with the Dicastery to support those living in precarious conditions closed last night with "a river of charity," its director Massimo Ralli noted, "thanks to the many volunteers who have made it possible to welcome and visit almost 1,000 poor people this week."

At the same time, all parish and diocesan communities have responded to the invitation to place the needs of the poor in their neighbourhoods at the centre of their pastoral activities through concrete gestures of solidarity.

Caritas Italiana, Italy's national Catholic charities, published the 28th edition of the Report on Poverty and Social Exclusion in Italy entitled 'Blades of Grass in the Cracks. Responses of Hope' presented as part of the first synodal assembly of the Churches in Italy, which closed on 17 November at the Basilica of Saint Paul's Outside the Walls.

Today in Italy 9.7% of the population lives in poverty, practically one person in ten. In all, there are five million 694 thousand living in absolute poverty making a total of over two million individual people and 217 thousand families (8.4% of households). This figure, which is slightly higher than in 2022, on a family basis and stable on an individual basis, is still the highest in the historical trend and does not show signs of decreasing.

Poverty rates in the UK are much higher. According to latest figures from the Joseph Rowntree Trust, 22 percent of the UK population lives in poverty - more than one in five people - a total of 14.4 million people. The average across EU countries is 21 per cent.