Preparations for VI World Day of the Poor underway

By Vatican News staff reporter

On Sunday 13 November 2022, the Church marks the Sixth World Day of the Poor, under the theme “For your sakes Christ became poor”, drawn from the words of the Apostle Paul to the first Christians in Corinth (2 Cor 8:9).

The Day was established by Pope Francis in his Apostolic Letter “Misericordia et Miser”, to celebrate the end of the Extraordinary Jubilee of Mercy. Since 2017 it has been celebrated every year on the 33rd Sunday in Ordinary Time.

Going out to encounter poverty

Its aim is to encourage the Church to “go out” into the streets to encounter poverty in its different forms.

In this year’s message for the Day, Pope Francis reminds us that from the very early times of the Church, attention to the needs of the poor was a feature of the Christian community, as shown by St. Paul in his letter to the Corinthians. In that letter, the Apostle asks the local Christian community to take up a special collection for the community in Jerusalem, which is suffering great hardship due to a food shortage, as “a sign of love, the love shown by Jesus himself”.

Papal Mass in St. Peter's Basilica

As in the previous editions, Pope Francis will preside over a Mass in St. Peter's Basilica with the privileged participation of the poor and other faithful who wish to take part. At the end of the celebration, 1,300 poor people will be offered a festive meal in the Paul VI Hall.

In the lead-up to the celebration, the Dicastery for Evangelization, which has been charged by the Pope to promote the event, has organized various initiatives in the Vatican and in Rome that will be carried out throughout the week.

Free medical treatment and screenings 

These include free medical examinations in mobile clinics and the distribution of medicines to the poor in Rome, There will also be a camper equipped to carry out tests for hepatitis C, HIV and tuberculosis. The project is carried out thanks to the help of the CUAMM missionary doctors, doctors of PTV Policlinico Tor Vergata Foundation, the Corps of Voluntary Nurses of the Red Cross, the BIOS Group, the volunteers of the Italian charity Misericordia, the Italian Society of Infectious and Tropical Diseases (SIMIT) and the Italian Society of General Medicine and Primary Care (SIMG). Clinical tests, on the other hand, are provided by the GILEAD company.

Food boxes for 5,000 poor families in Rome

5,000 food boxes with food items offered by an Italian chain market will be also delivered across Rome to parish priests who have requested them for local families . 

Financial support to help pay bills

Furthermore, during the week, as the energy crisis grinds on aggravating the conditions of poverty that many families already endure, electricity and gas bills will be paid to reduce the financial burden of those who are struggling the most.