Pope Francis will go for the fifth time to Assisi, to prepare for the World Day of the Poor. Reaching its fifth edition this year, it will be held on Sunday, November 14. The theme this year is inspired in a verse of Mark’s Gospel: “The poor you will always have with you.”
The Holy Father instituted the World Day of the Poor at the end of the Extraordinary Jubilee of Mercy, with the Apostolic Letter “Misericordia et Misera.” The purpose of the Day is to sensitize to listen to the cry of the poor and the suffering. It is an event that involves the whole Church and, as always, the Pope intends to give example in a concrete way. Therefore, he will go privately to Assisi on Friday, November 12, to the Basilica of Saint Mary of the Angels. The Pontiff will meet privately with a group of 500 poor from different parts of Europe and will spend with them a time of listening and prayer.
Global Appointment
Last year, on presenting the fourth edition of the World Day of the Poor, the President of the Pontifical Council for Promoting the New Evangelization, Monsignor Rino Fisichella, stressed that “although limited in initiatives, it remains an appointment that the dioceses of the world keep maintaining alive the meaning of care and fraternity in dealing with the most marginalized and disadvantaged people.
The Pontiff’s Prior Visits to Assisi
Pope Francis’ last visit to Assisi took place last year. On October 3, always privately because of the pandemic, he went to Saint Francis’ tomb to pray and to sign the Encyclical Fratelli Tutti, published the following day.
The first time the Pontiff went to visit Saint Francis’ city was soon after his election, on October 4, 2013, the feast of the Patron of Italy. He returned to the slopes of Subiaco on two other occasions, both in 2016, a few weeks apart. The first is on August 4 for the eighth centenary of the Pardon of Assisi at the Porziuncola, and the second is on September 20 for the inter-religious meeting linked to the World Day of Prayer for Peace.
Translation by Virginia M. Forrester
