explained.
The pope invited the men to have breakfast with him
in the residence dining room, where they talked and
shared a few laughs.
One of the men told the pope, “It’s worthwhile being
a vagrant because you get to meet the pope,” the paper
said.
The pope was scheduled to carry out a normal work-
day, the Vatican said.
Some Vatican offices paid homage to the pope in
different ways: the Vatican television center created a
special video of visual highlights of Pope Francis’ nine-
month-long pontificate; the Vatican internet office post-
ed on the vatican.va website an e-album of images and
quotes by the pope; the Vatican newspaper,
L’Osservatore Romano
, rolled out a newly
designed website at
.
va that lets readers easily share stories on so-
cial media.
A group representing the pope’s favorite
soccer squad -- San Lorenzo de Almagro --
had wanted to celebrate the pope’s birthday by
showing him the Argentine league champion-
ship trophy they won Dec. 16.
However, Passionist Father Ciro Benedet-
tini, vice director of the Vatican press office,
said it was expected the group would meet the
By Carol Glatz
Catholic News Service
VATICAN CITY (CNS) -- As part of a
low-key celebration of his 77th birthday,
Pope Francis had breakfast with three people
who live on the streets near the Vatican. A
small dog, belonging to one of the homeless
men, was also on the guest list.
The pope started the day with his usual
morning Mass held in the chapel of the Do-
mus Sanctae Marthae residence where he
lives.
However, he requested that the Mass be
attended by the residence staff “in order to
create a particularly family atmosphere for
the celebration,” the Vatican press office
said in a written statement Dec. 17. Cardi-
nal Angelo Sodano, dean of the College of
Cardinals, represented the world’s cardinals
at the Mass, and Archbishop Pietro Parolin,
Vatican secretary of state, attended.
After the Mass, all those present sang
“Happy Birthday” to the pope, the Vatican
statement said. The pope then met with ev-
eryone, including three homeless men who
were brought there by Archbishop Konrad
Krajewski, the papal almoner.
The archbishop invited the first group of
men he had found early that morning sleep-
ing under the large portico in front of the
Vatican press hall on the main boulevard in front of St.
Peter’s Square, according to the Vatican newspaper,
L’Osservatore Romano
.
“Would you like to come Pope Francis’ birthday
party,” he asked them, reported the paper.
The men, in their forties, were from Slovakia, Po-
land, and the Czech Republic. They loaded all their be-
longings in the archbishop’s car; the dog rode in the
middle.
When they got to the residence, they waited for the
Mass to end, then greeted the pope. Together withArch-
bishop Krajewski, they gave the pope a bouquet of sun-
flowers, because they always turn toward the sun like
the church turns toward its sun, Christ, the archbishop
Pope celebrates birthday by having breakfast with
homeless men
Pope Francis talks with three men Dec. 17 who live on the streets near the Vatican. As part of a low-key celebration of
his 77th birthday, the pope celebrated morning Mass and had breakfast with the men.
CNS photo/L’Osservatore Romano via
Reuters
pope Dec. 18.
A group of children receiving assistance from the
Vatican’s St. Martha Dispensary, a maternal and pediat-
ric clinic, had given the pope a surprise birthday party
Dec. 14 marked with singing, a real cake with candles
and a sweater as a gift.
When presented with the cake, the pope blew out the
candles with the children and joked, “I’ll tell you later
if it’s good or not.”
Pilgrims gathered for the Angelus prayer in St. Pe-
ter’s Square Dec. 15 also sang “Happy Birthday” as
they waited for the pope to appear at the window of the
apostolic palace.
16
Gulf Pine Catholic
•
January 3, 2014
