Pope Francis arrived in Assisi and met a group of more than 500 poor people from across Europe in the Basilica of St.Mary of the Angels. The Holy Father listened to the testimonies of a former homeless ex-convict who experienced a dramatic conversion after encountering a priest on the street, a Romanian woman in a wheelchair who has suffered from a chronic debilitating illness, and a refugee from Afghanistan.
“It is time that the poor be given back their voice because for too long their requests have remained unheard,” the Pope said. As the Pope met with the poor in the basilica, he gave hugs, blessings, exchanged words, and even wrote a handwritten note to one of the men. The Pontiff heard testimonies of six people living in poverty.
This was the pope’s fifth trip to Assisi. At the end of the meeting with the poor on Pope’s special day on the World Day of Poor, he thanked everyone and sought prayer from them by saying ‘I carry you in my heart. And, please don’t forget to pray for me, because I have my own poverty and lots of it.