Pope Francis will travel to Assisi, Italy, on November 12, for the World Day of the Poor, I.Media has learned. He will participate in an event sponsored by the Pontifical Council for the Promotion of New Evangelization, chaired by Archbishop Rino Fisichella.
The Fratello Association, co-sponsoring the initiative, is also coordinating a series of events around the globe, in view of the fifth World Day of the Poor, officially celebrated on November 14.
This will be the fourth time since the beginning of his pontificate that Pope Francis will travel to Assisi. This time, he will go to the Franciscan city "to participate, as a pilgrim," in the 5th World Day of the Poor, explained to I.Media Etienne Villemain, co-founder of Fratello.
"The Pope of the poor goes to the city of the poor to be with the poor," he said, seeing in this trip a symbol of the concern the Pope has for the "little ones" of the world.
The Argentine pontiff will be surrounded by 400 underprivileged people from 15 European delegations. Also present will be severely disabled children.
These guests, referred to as "Fratelli" by the association, will arrive in Assisi on Thursday, November 11 and will leave on November 13. They will then return home, as "sent" by the Pope, to live the World Day of the Poor in their local parishes on Sunday, November 14.
For this fifth edition of this day, which the Pope established at the end of the Jubilee of Mercy, some 50 places around the world will host local initiatives to honor the most vulnerable. A time of global online prayer is scheduled for Sunday, November 14 at 3:00 p.m. Rome time. Coordinated by the Fratello Association, the theme of the event is a declaration to the most needy: "You are the treasure of the Church! Your place is here first!
Among the various initiatives planned around the World Day is one organized at St. Rita's Parish in the Bronx, New York. On Saturday, November 13, some 300 homeless or otherwise underprivileged people will be welcomed. A Mass, testimonies of people in difficulty, and workshops for children will be on the program, before a vigil of mercy. Two auxiliary bishops from the Archdiocese of New York will be present.
Gatherings will be held in about 30 other countries. In Argentina, for example, Pope Francis' home country, an event will be held in the city of Reconquista in a neighborhood center for those suffering from drug or alcohol addiction. A "travelling meal" in the houses of the poor district will be proposed on Sunday, November 14.
In France, events are planned in Marseille, Lyon, Saint-Denis, Lourdes and Tréguier, where 200 people in need will be housed in the homes of the inhabitants of the Breton town.
