MESSAGE OF THE HOLY FATHER FRANCIS FOR THE 150 th ANNIVERSARY OF ROME AS CAPITAL OF ITALY
Rome, Saint John Lateran
[…] There is a demand for inclusion written in the lives of the poor and those
who, as immigrants and refugees, see Rome as a port of salvation. Often their
eyes, incredibly, see the city with more expectation and hope than we Romans
who, because of the many daily problems we face, look at it in a pessimistic way,
as if it were destined to decline. No, Rome is a great resource of humanity!
“Rome is a city of unique beauty” (Celebration of First Vespers of Mary, Mother
of God, 31 December 2013: Insegnamenti I, 2 [2013], 804). Rome can and
must renew itself in the twofold sense of openness to the world and the inclusion
of all. The Jubilees also stimulate this, and that of 2025 is no longer far away.
[…]
