Homeless pilgrimage

Richard A. Sokerka

During this Year of Mercy, thousands upon thousands of pilgrims are making their way to Rome on pilgrimage.

But also going on pilgrimage in this Holy Year will be thousands of homeless people from all over Europe who will travel on pilgrimage to Rome later this year where they will be personally greeted by Pope Francis, the Vatican announced last week. It will be one of the final events of the Extraordinary Jubilee Year of Mercy, which will close on Nov. 20, the Feast of Christ the King.

The Vatican announced that the pope will receive the homeless in special audience on Friday, Nov. 11, the feast of St. Martin of Tours, the saint famous for using his military sword to give half of his cloak to a beggar clothed only in rags in winter. At that moment, still a pagan soldier of the Roman Empire, St. Martin’s conversion began because of the chance encounter with the beggar.

Pope Francis often gives a medal depicting St. Martin of Tour’s gesture to heads of state, to remind them of the need to promote the rights and dignity of the poor.

Helping to organize the pilgrimage for the homeless is the Fratello (Brother) Assoc­iation, which began in 2014, when 150 street people traveled to Rome with their escorts on a pilgrimage that ended with a brief meeting with Pope Francis. They will work with associations across Europe that assist the homeless to invite them to join in the Year of Mercy pilgrimage.

In a statement about the homeless pilgrimage, the Fratello Association said, “This time of pilgrimage and the opportunity to meet Pope Francis will give people from the most vulnerable sectors of society, who are often treated as outcasts, a chance to discover that their place is in the heart of God and in the heart of the Church.”

Certainly, it will be one of the most heart-rending events in the Year of Mercy. As the world focuses its collective eyes on the homeless meeting with the Pope may every witness to it be moved to end the scourge of homelessness wherever they live and do all they can to be Christ to our brothers and sisters in need.