In preparation for the World Day of the Poor, the Dicastery for Charity of the Holy See offers free advice, medicine and help to those in need every day from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m.
Vatican News
“To the poor who live in our cities and are part of our communities I say: God cares for each one of you and is close to you.” Pope Francis’ words for the 8th World Day of the Poor, Sunday, November 17, reflect the spirit and inspiration behind the initiatives organized by the Department of Generous Services. As Cardinal Konrad Kraiński, director of the Vatican’s Dicastery of Alms, often emphasizes, the department serves as an “emergency room” for the needs of the most vulnerable.
generosity week
As we approach the Day of the Poor, initiatives increase. The “Mother of Mercy” clinic, founded in 2015 under the columns of St. Peter’s Basilica, begins its intensive care service for a week on November 11. It will be open from 8 am to 5 pm, where medical services will be provided to those in need. The clinic has 46 doctors, 8 nurses and 10 volunteers, who work in two shifts every day. You will provide general and specialty medical appointments, flu shots, blood tests, swabs, bandages and medications to people without access or documentation to healthcare every day. No ID card will be required, since the purpose is to help our brothers and sisters in need.
Setting up expert meetings for those in need
The clinic offers walk-in appointments with specialists as it has doctors from 18 different fields, including cardiology, orthopedics, ophthalmology, general surgery, rheumatology, dermatology, dentistry, gynecology, pulmonology, otorhinolaryngology, includes oncology, ultrasound, urology, psychiatry , neurology, infectious diseases, gastroenterology, nephrology and podiatry. A list has been shared with several parishes in the Diocese of Rome to inform and encourage those in need to take advantage of this opportunity.
praying with god’s chosen people
“The prayers of the poor reach God” (Acts 21:5) is the theme of the World Day of Poverty. In his message, Pope Francis writes that this prayer “must be read in the faces and stories of the poor we encounter every day, so that prayer becomes a way of communicating with them and sharing their suffering.” In his encyclical Dilixit Nos, on the human and divine love of the Heart of Jesus Christ, Pope Francis writes that such sharing is only possible when the heart is inspired by humility and grows in “fraternity and solidarity.”
The encyclical says: “Those who do not cry become numb inside, but those who cry before God with simpler, more intimate prayers, full of reverence and compassion, mature spiritually. They become less and less attached to Christ and humble themselves. In this De In this way they feel closer to the poor, to God’s chosen people.
