Pope hosts lunch for poor

(December 27, 2010) Later on Sunday, Pope Benedict played host to several hundred poor people of Rome for a meal inside the Vatican. Many of them were from shelters run by the Missionaries of Charity, the order founded by the late Mother Teresa of Calcutta. Last year, Benedict travelled to a Rome soup kitchen to join the poor for lunch after Christmas. This year he wanted to invite them to his home and to pay homage to Mother Teresa, whose birth centenary is being celebrated this year. Also joining the Pope and his guests at Sunday’s lunch were 250 nuns, seminarians and priests of Mother Teresa's Missionaries of Charity order, which runs soup kitchens around Rome. The Holy Father told his guests about the virtues of Mother Teresa, who dedicated her life to serving the sick and poor. “To those who ask why Mother Teresa was famous, the answer is easy: she lived her life in a humble and hidden way, for the love of God and in love with God,” he said. The Pope’s menu for the poor included lasagne, veal with roasted potatoes, Italy’s traditional Christmas ‘pandoro’ cake with chocolate bits and cream, and coffee.