At St. Angela Merici Parish, a community of 5,200 people, most of them elderly and retired, the Pope appealed to the parishioners to attend to «situations of poverty existing in the neighborhood, to proclaim the Gospel of charity with deeds.»
«I am thinking,» he said, «for example, of people coming from countries outside the European Community, often without work or unable to live a worthy life. I am thinking of the numerous elderly, who are profoundly affected by loneliness, precisely at the moment when their physical strength and good health begin to fail.»
The Holy Father applauded the efforts of the parish, which has just established a Caritas center to foster the integration of immigrants and help needy families.
