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Mass with the Pope, tons of pasta and tomato sauce, thousands of health kits, help with paying electricity bills ... the City of Rome is rallying to the World Day of the Poor this Sunday, following the Pope's lead in giving Gospel priority to "Jesus' little ones."
The program for this 5th World Day of the Poor (Francis established the day during the Jubilee of Mercy) will follow a special pilgrimage of the Pope and the poor together in Assisi on November 12.
On the World Day itself, Sunday, November 14, the Pope will begin by celebrating 10 am Mass in St. Peter's. The congregation will be made up of some 2,000 underprivileged persons, who are assisted through various social programs in the city.
After Mass, a hot meal will be distributed to all.
Other charitable initiatives are also planned in the Diocese of Rome.
In partnership with the Elite supermarket chain, food will be distributed to around 40 homes (“ Case-famiglia ”) that welcome mothers in difficulty with their children and adolescents.
Other companies joined the initiative and will offer a combined total of five tons of pasta, one ton of rice, two tons of tomato sauce, 1,000 liters of oil and 3,000 liters of milk, as well as products for infants.
Some 5,000 first aid kits will be provided to around 60 Roman parishes, to be distributed to the poorest families.
In addition, while a 15% to 30% increase in energy prices weighs heavily on Italian households, the insurance company UnipolSai will help 500 families in difficulty to pay their gas and electricity bills.
Finally, in St. Peter's Square, volunteers from the University Hospital of Tor Vergata and the Italian Red Cross will offer Hepatitis C and HIV screening tests, all afternoon on November 14.
In the Pope's message for this day, released in June, the Pope reflected:
