Pope Francis will meet 500 poor people from across Europe as part of the Catholic Church’s celebration of the 5th annual World Day of the poor, which comes in the year on Sunday, November 14. The Pontiff is planning to make a private visit to the Basilica of Santa Maria degli Angeli in Assisi, the birthplace of St. Francis.
“At the conclusion of the jubilee of Mercy, I wanted to offer the Church a World Day of the Poor, so that throughout the world Christian communities can become an ever greater sign of Christ’s charity for the least and those most in need,” the Pope wrote in his first World Day of the Poor message in 2017. This year the Holy Father will pray, spend time with the poor and listen to their experiences.
The Day is celebrated each year a week before the Feast of Christ the King. The poor are not only responsible for their condition, but they represent an intolerable burden for an economic system focused on the interests of a few privileged groups, the Pope pointed out.