Pope Francis visits JRS soup kitchen

(Vatican Radio) Pope Francis made a private visit on Tuesday afternoon to the Centro Astalli: a soup kitchen and shelter for refugees operated by the Italian branch of the Jesuit Refugee Service, an international network that assists forced migrants and refugees. In Rome JRS services include three shelters, an Italian language school, a health facility with special attention for victims of torture, legal counseling services and a soup kitchen which is precisely where Pope Francis came to share a meal with the Centre’s guests.


Last year, the Jesuit-run Centro Astalli assisted 21 thousand people. It is one of hundreds of JRS initiatives worldwide: they are found in 50 countries, providing assistance to refugees in camps and cities, internally displaced persons, asylum seekers, and people in detention centres. The JRS provides emergency assistance, but not only: their main areas of work include education, healthcare, vocational training and social services. At present, more than 600 thousand people directly benefit from JRS projects. The director of JRS international , Fr. Peter Balleis SJ, told Vatican Radio the work of the organization is deeply rooted in the charism of the Society of Jesus. “250 thousand [direct beneficiaries] are in educational activities,” he said. “So, [as a matter of fact], we fulfill very much the image of the Society of Jesus as being a teaching, an education order – that is what we do.” Fr. Balleis SJ went on to speak of a specific initiative: an educational partnership between JRS camps in Jordan, Kenya and Malawi and Regis University in Denver, Colorado, which allows refugees to be regularly enrolled students in undergraduate programmes. “It’s about the future,” said Fr. Balleis SJ, about, “helping people reflect better, to think better, [to] become different leaders, in order to make a difference when they go back.”


At present, some of the most intense work JRS is doing is in and around war-torn Syria, where they are currently providing accompaniment, emergency items, and psychosocial support for displaced Syrians, as well as educational services for children. The director of JRS International, Fr. Peter Balleis, spoke about that and more with Vatican Radio. Click to listen: