Vatican Palace Converted Into Shelter for Homeless, Pope Ordered

Pope Francis has often sided with the poor and the homeless, and at his direction a 19th-century palace beside the Vatican has been turned into a shelter for people without homes. The British newspaper Daily Mail, as cited by the source, reported that the Palazzo Migliori had become vacant the previous year. Rather than being sold or leased for profit, despite its prominent location near St. Peter’s Square, the building was transferred for use as a shelter.

According to the report, the palace opened its doors to homeless people as a place where they could “sleep, eat and learn,” and it has been called “the palace of the poor.” The Pope blessed the building the Friday before World Poverty Day.

The palace had previously been home to the Calasanzian religious order, which provides assistance and care to single mothers. The order moved to new workplaces the year before the shelter opened, after occupying the building for 70 years. The Church first took over the four-story palace in the 1930s, and it still bears the name of the Roman family that built it in the nineteenth century.

About 50 homeless men and women now live in the palace’s 16 rooms. Mario Briza, 53, told NBC News that he has his own bedroom, and a private bathroom, which he said differs greatly from the dormitories he had used before. Briza, whose leg was amputated, lives on a monthly disability allowance of £230, according to the report.

Sharon Christner, 23, is a volunteer at the shelter. She travelled from Pennsylvania as part of a research project on homelessness and social issues. Turning a former mansion into lodging for people without homes, a picture of welcoming the stranger (Matthew 25:35).

The report also included a remark that many people had rented the building, made a large profit from it, and could have given it to the poor for charitable use. The source does not clearly identify who made this remark.

Source: Read the original report (translated from Arabic)