Pope: ‘Helping the poor is offering witness to God’s mercy’

By Lisa Zengarini

Before his General Audience on Wednesday morning, Pope Francis met with a  delegation of the Foyer Notre-Dame des Sans-Abri and of the Association of Friends of Gabriel Rosset, two French Catholic institutions   based in Lyon involved in assisting and offering shelter to the homeless.

The Foyer Notre-Dame des Sans-Abri (Shelter of our Lady of the Homeless) was founded in the mid-900s by Gabriel Rosset, a French Catholic layman and teacher who devoted his life to the poor and marginalized.

In 2023 the shelter assisted 8.360 people in need in the southern Rhône Department. The association assisting them numbers today over 1,000 volunteers and 420 employees.

Witnessing God's closeness, compassion, and tenderness

In his address Pope Francis warmly thanked the group for their ongoing dedication to helping the marginalized which, he said,  offers a concrete witness to three qualities of God: “closeness, compassion, and tenderness.”

He recalled that professor Rosset, remembered this year on the fiftieth anniversary of his death, displayed profound compassion by responding to the needs of the "poorest of the poor" with courage and faith, treating each suffering individual as the presence of Christ. 

“He heard the cry of the poor and didn't look the other way nor close his eyes,” the Pope said, remarking that assisting a poor person, is a "sacred act" in the Church,  aligning with its mission of mercy.

Restoring the human dignity of the poor in a world marred by indifference

The Pope commended the members of the Association for following Rosset’s example, by  offering the homeless not only material support—shelter, meals, and kindness— thus  restoring their dignity in a world often indifferent to their suffering.

He further highlighted the significance of placing their mission under the protection of Mary, the "Virgin of Mercy", who welcomes all, opening her arms like a shelter and anticipating needs, and does not shy away from human suffering.

Heeding Mary's example of compassion

With “mercy and compassion, fraternity and openness, an outstretched hand and the rejection of the culture of waste,” he remarked , “the Church becomes a living sign of God’s tenderness for all his children.”

Bringing his address to a close, Pope Francis praised the Foyer of the Notre-Dame des Sans-Abri as a "living image" of Mary’s "maternal compassion," as their efforts enable people to regain dignity and hope. “With your presence and your listening,” he said, “you show that Mary and Jesus never stop walking alongside their brothers and sisters, especially those who are too often forgotten.

The Pope concluded by entrusting their work  to the “maternal prayer of Our Lady, who watches over you and over all the people you accompany.”