Pope Francis celebrates Mass with 4 homeless men on his 77th birthday
Pope Francis turned 77 on Tuesday and celebrated Mass in the Santa Marta guesthouse
with 4 homeless men, his closest collaborators and staff from the guesthouse, all
of whom afterwards greeted him with a birthday song.
Listen to this report
by Susy Hodges:
It was Pope
Francis’s 77th birthday on Tuesday and those present at his morning Mass
included Archbishop Pietro Parolin, the Secretary of State and Cardinal Angelo Sodano,
the Dean of the College of Cardinals, together with staff from the Santa Marta guesthouse.
The congregation also included the Almoner Monsignor Konrad Krajewski who brought
with him 4 homeless men who live in the streets around the Vatican. After the Mass,
all those present wished the Pope a happy birthday and sang greetings to him before
joining him for breakfast in the Vatican guesthouse.
Today’s reading was centered
on the genealogy of Jesus and the Pope used this in his homily to reflect on God’s
enduring presence in our lives throughout history. He said “God wished to live out
His life alongside us” and “took His surname from each of us.”
“God,” the
Pope continued, “has always walked alongside His people,” beginning with Abraham,
Isaac and Jacob. He did not want to come to redeem us without coming to live among
us and share our lives. The Pope said this long list of God’s people included “saints
and sinners.” The latter included “high level sinners who committed serious sins and
who didn’t listen” to God’s plans for them.
Pope Francis said in addition
to accompanying us in our lives our God follows us and in this way, he displays His
humility, His patience and His love for us. He concluded his homily with “a Christmas
wish” for all of us “to allow God to write our lives for us.”