Dear brothers and sisters, today the World Day of Migrants and Refugees, taking place in the context of the Holy Year of Mercy, is also celebrated as the Jubilee of Migrants. Therefore, I am pleased to greet with great affection the ethnic communities present here, all of you, from various regions of Italy, especially Lazio. Dear migrants and refugees, each of you carries within you a story, a culture, precious values; and often, sadly, also experiences of misery, oppression, fear. Your presence in this Square is a sign of hope in God. Do not let them rob you of the hope and joy of living, which springs from the experience of divine mercy, thanks also to the people who welcome you and help you. May your passing through the Holy Door and the Mass which you will experience shortly, fill your heart with peace. In this Mass I would like to thank — and you too, thank them with me — the detainees of the prison in Opera [Italy], for the gift of the hosts which they packaged themselves and which will be used in this celebration. Let us greet them with a round of applause from here, all together….[…]
