Pope Francis to visit the Roman Parish of St. Thomas on Sunday
Rome, 15 February 2014: Pope Francis will make a pastoral visit to the Roman Parish
of St. Thomas the Apostle on Sunday. His visit takes place on the occasion of the
50th anniversary of the Parish, which falls on February 19. The Pontiff
is scheduled to meet with the parish community and to celebrate Mass with them.The Pontiff will be welcomed on his arrival by Cardinal Vicar Agostino Vallini, Bishop Paolo Schiavon, and priests. Pope Francis then meet with catechism children and young people who will receive the Sacrament of Confirmation. The Pontiff will also meet with some differently abled and sick people of the parish, together with the members of "Happy Time", an association formed by families of children with different types of disabilities. He will also meet the members of the parish pastoral council.
The concelebrated Mass is scheduled to begin at about 6 pm.
While talking with Vatican Radio, the parish priest, Father Don Antonio D'Errico said that Pope’s visit is ‘a great gift from God’ and ‘not so much as a media event’ and so the celebration of the Eucharist will be at the center.
When asked about Pope’s preference for the outskirts of Rome, he said ‘Certainly, we're really at the edge of the diocese of Rome…. There are certainly poor in this neighborhood… And then there's immigration. There is a large community, which is from Sri Lanka, but there is also citizens from Romania.
He is that the Parish is also one of the youngest in the diocese, adding that it has more than 130 baptisms a year. Source: VR Sedoc
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