A visit with the disabled

At 5:00pm today, Pope Francis continued his practice for Mercy Friday by visiting the community known as Il Chicco - The Boy.  This is an association that belongs to the larger family of l'Arche which was founded by Jean Vanier in 1964, and which is now present in more than 30 countries on five continents.  Together with the Faith and Light association, Il Chicco and L'Arche dedicate their efforts to the weak and the marginalized in society.

The first Il Chicco community in Italy was founded in 1981 and hosts 18 people with serious mental disabilities.  A second structure is located in Bologna and a third may soon be established in Sardegna.  The institution that is at the root of these family homes is the one that welcomes people with serious disabilities in order to help them to feel welcome, and that they are instrumental in their own lives and in the lives of those to whom they are dedicated.  The main philosophy of L'Arche is to create opportunities to praise imperfection: to help people to be aware that no one can be discriminated against on the basis of any form of disability.  Visiting L'Arche homes helps people to discover how much these people possess their own sensibility, the result of profound affection and the search for friendship.

Pope Francis wanted to give another sign against the culture of disposal.  We should never deprive anyone of love, joy and dignity solely because they have a mental disability.  No one can afford to discriminate on the basis of preconceptions that marginalize and imprison families and associations in solitude.

In the Ciampino structure, there are two family homes (called focolari): one is called the Vineyard and the other is called the Olive Tree.  Pope Francis sat at table to share a snack with the disabled and with volunteers; he listened to the simple words spoken by Nadia, Salvatore, Vittorio, Paolo, Maria Grazia, Danilo ... joyfully and simply sharing this family moment with them.  He also was able to visit those who are more seriously disabled, giving them a sign of profound affection and tenderness; in particular Armando and Fabio who were the first to be welcomed at the home.  According to Jean Vanier's intuition, the disabled should live a life that also involves manual labour, according to their personal capability.  For this reason, Pope Francis visited the workshop where every day, small articles are created, expressing the creativity and imagination of the members of Il Chicco.  Finally, everyone was invited to join hands and Pope Francis prayed with them in the small chapel.  Then, he hugged them and departed around 6:30pm.

The Il Chicco community is funded by a few regional subsidies but confides itself to Providence for the majority of the assistance that is needed.  In addition to a sum that was given as a personal offering, the Pope presented them with pastarelle, seasonal fruit - cherries and peaches - which were welcomed with joyful applause.

Through this visit, Pope Francis expressed one of the most salient features of his pontificate: attention paid to the most simple and vulnerable.  By sharing with them both tenderness and affection, he gives a concrete sign of how we can live the year of mercy.

As of May 12, the official statistics show that during the Holy Year, more than 7 million people have been present at Jubilee events in Rome.  Today's is the fifth sign of mercy demonstrated by Pope Francis during the Jubilee: in January, he visited a home for the elderly, the sick and those in a vegetative state; in February, he visited a residence for addicts at Castel Galdalfo; in March, he visited a welcome centre for refugees in Castelnuovo di Porto; and in April, he visited the island of Lesvos in Greece.