World Day of the Poor

The World Day of the Poor will be celebrated on Sunday, 18 November. It was established by Pope Francis in 2016, at the end of the Jubilee of Mercy with the title “This poor man cried and the Lord heard him” (Ps 34.7).

In his message for that occasion the Pope wrote: “This Psalm allows us today, to immerse ourselves in many forms of poverty, and understand who are the real poor towards whom we should direct our gaze. […] What does the poor man’s cry express if not his suffering and solitude, disappointment and hope? We may wonder: how come this cry, that rises up to God’s presence, is unable to reach our ears and leaves us indifferent and passive? On a Day like this, we are asked to seriously examine our conscience to understand if we are really capable of listening to the poor.”

On the occasion of the 2nd World Day of the Poor, we are again invited to open our own homes, and share our meals in a simple and fraternal way, as a sign of solidarity and comfort to the many forms of poverty we can all see with our own eyes.