Source:
On 17 December 2013, Pope Francis celebrated his 77th birthday. He did not eat breakfast alone. Joining him were three homeless men, all of whom were from Eastern Europe: the Czech Republic, Poland, and Slovakia. They also joined him for Mass and gave him a bouquet of sunflowers. During the same week, Pope Francis focused attention on the impoverished and quoted Matthew 25:35-46: “Whoever has nourished, welcomed, visited, loved one of the least and poorest of men, will have done this to the Son of God. On the contrary, whoever has rejected, forgotten, ignored one of the least and poorest of men, will have done this to God himself.” He added, “Let us act so that our brothers and sisters never feel alone! Our presence in solidarity by their side expresses not only through the words of but also through the eloquence of deeds that God is close to everyone.” Francis was elected Pope in March 2013 and has been very popular. Cardinal Timothy Dolan, archbishop of New York, said, “I mean, everybody from the bartender to the cab driver [is] telling me, ‘Cardinal Dolan, we love this guy. We’re not even Catholic, and we might not even be believers, but this guy is getting us thinking about God and eternal things.’” He added, “What we were after was a good pastor with a track record of a solid administration, but fatherly, warm, tender care for the sheep, for his people. And, boy, we got that on steroids with Pope Francis. He’s the world’s parish priest.”
For Further Information: Francis D’Emilio, “Pope shares his birthday breakfast with homeless.” Associated Press. 17 December 2013
http://news.yahoo.com/pope-shares-birthday-breakfast-homeless-111344588.html
For Further Information: Adriana Pratt, Simone Swink, Timothy Gowa, and Jon Williams, “Pope Francis’ Christmas Message: ‘Place Ourselves at the Service of the Poor.’” ABC News. 18 December 2013
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