Pope gives away shoes, asks clergy to house the poor

Pope Francis called upon the Church groups of the Diocese of Rome to open their buildings to help house the poor, as millions of pilgrims are expected in 2025.

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On the World Day for the Poor, celebrated on Sunday, November 17, Pope Francis had lunch with around 1,300 homeless people and others living in poverty. He also celebrated Mass with them in St. Peter’s Basilica. This event was launched by the Pontiff after the Jubilee of the Homeless organized in Rome by the Fratello Association, during the Year of Mercy (2016).

One of the homeless people participating in the lunch was Giuseppe, who a couple of days prior to the events received a pair of shoes that had been gifted to Pope Francis, Vatican News reported.

Cardinal Konrad Krajewski, the prefect of the Dicastery for the Service of Charity, told the Vatican’s official media outlet that Pope Francis had been gifted a pair of size 42 shoes (US size 9) that week, which he immediately brought to the dicastery to be given to those in need.

A couple of hours later, Giuseppe came by looking for a pair of shoes to replace his worn out ones. “He immediately received the Holy Father’s shoes,” Cardinal Krajewski told Vatican News.

Housing shortages in Rome

In a letter dated November 8, 2024, and addressed to the clergy, religious, and laity of Rome, Pope Francis appealed for housing to be guaranteed for the most vulnerable during the upcoming Jubilee year next year. The Pope’s appeal comes as rising prices in Rome plunge more and more people into poverty.

“In view of the Jubilee, I asked my diocese to give a tangible sign of attention to housing problems so that, alongside the welcome addressed to all the pilgrims who will flock here, forms of protection will be activated for those who do not have a home or who are in danger of losing it,” reads the Pope’s letter sent to the superiors of religious orders, the legal heads of ecclesial entities, and priests in Rome.
“I ask all the ecclesial entities to make a courageous gesture of love for their neighbor, offering the spaces they have at their disposal, especially those who possess available accommodation or apartments,” the Pope goes on to write.

This appeal by the Argentine pontiff comes at a time when the city of Rome is facing a rise in property prices, caused in particular by increased tourist pressure since the end of the COVID-19 pandemic. The prospect of the Jubilee 2025, which will bring millions of pilgrims to the Eternal City, and the conversion of apartments into Airbnb-type rentals, are contributing to this tension on the rental market.

In a recent report quoted by La Repubblica, Rome’s Caritas estimates that nearly 30,000 Roman households have asked the municipality for support to pay their rent, and that evictions reached 6,591 in 2022.

Some 16,600 families are waiting for welfare housing, while Rome and the surrounding region are estimated to have more than 20,000 homeless people.

The Pope’s appeal echoes his very firm speech at the end of October in the Basilica of St. John Lateran. Addressing the mayor of Rome, he forcefully denounced the vices of a “city torn apart” by poverty and indifference, and deplored waste and hypocrisy.

“How can we accept the fact that 50 quintals of food are thrown away in our city and at the same time families have nothing to eat?” he said, reporting that he had seen such waste “at a restaurant 50 yards from the Vatican.”