Pope Francis made a surprise video call to women freed from prostitution, who have been taken in by the Pope John XXIII family home in the province of Ancona, Italy.
The young guests at the home, who were surprised by the call, are women rescued from the prostitution industry.
The video call was made February 18, as the pope received in private audience Fr. Aldo Buonaiuto, a priest of the John XXIII community, who has been committed for years to working to help young women enslaved by trafficking, as well as victims of sects.
“The young women couldn’t believe their eyes,” commented Fr. Buonaiuto. “They thanked the Pope for his closeness and invited him to their home. I brought as a gift to the Pontiff an image of Our Lady of Humility by Gentile da Fabriano and Holy Rosaries handmade by the guests of the shelter.”
The Holy Father visited the John XXIII home in 2016, during one of the “Fridays of Mercy” of the Jubilee Year of Mercy. The pope wrote of his experience visiting these women in the preface of a book by Fr. Buonaiuto.
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