A few months ago, Pope Francis came up with the idea that the Vatican provides a free service to the barboni, namely those people living on the streets of Rome without any shelter and deprived of the bare necessities.

These barboni do not have even the possibility of having a shower and are unable to take care of their personal hygiene. Apart from having no food or shelter, very often they are discarded by society because of their physical condition.

Pope Francis’s initiative came true when the Vatican itself provided a place, close to St Peter’s Square, furnished with the necessary amenities.

Apart from this, a call was made for volunteers to give a helping hand by offering shaving and hair-cutting services to these people. This service is given free of charge by these volunteers who generously accepted the Pope’s request to help restore dignity to these people.

The greater part of the barboni who make use of this service are not Italians. Most of them come from Morocco, Egypt, Brazil, India, Albania, and Romania. The satisfaction one feels when one offers this service comes out from Our Lord’s words: “I assure you, as often as you did it for one of my least brothers, you did it for me” (Mt 25,40).

This satisfaction is further enhanced by the smile of gratitude which surfaces on the face of these people when they see themselves being treated with human dignity. People who may be interested in offering their service towards this noble initiative can contact the coordinating office at the Vatican (att. Mgr Konrad Krajewski; elemosineria@elemos.va).

From personal experience, I can assure you that it will be a rewarding experience and, first and foremost, a concrete way of responding to the words of Pope Francis by putting into practice Christ’s words in Matthew 25.

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