Papal Almoner celebrates Mass for Rome's homeless

(Vatican Radio) The Almoner of His Holiness, Archbishop Konrad Krajewski, celebrated Mass on Sunday in memory of Modesta Valenti, an elderly homeless woman who died in 1983 when, after taking ill in Rome's Termini Station, she was refused ambulance service because of her filthy condition.

Along with volunteers and associations who assist the homeless, the Sant'Egidio community in Rome marks the anniversary of her passing each year with a Mass in the name of all the poor and homeless who have lost their lives because of their inadequate living conditions.

The Community gave a lunch after the celebration, at which over 500 needy people were guests.

This memorial has been extended to many parishes in Rome and other cities in Italy and throughout the world, wherever the Sant'Egidio is present and active in the service of the poor.