Pope Francis celebrated Mass in St. Peter's Square to commemorate the World Day of Migrants and Refugees. The motto this year was, “it's not just about migrants.”
People from many different cultures attended, representing emigrants and refugees from all around the world. One of the most moving gestures was this Gloria performed by a multi-ethnic choir.
During his homily, the pope said that we cannot remain indifferent to the tragedy of old and new forms of poverty that migration brings.
POPE FRANCIS
We cannot remain insensitive, our hearts cold, before the misery of so many innocent people. We must not fail to weep. We must not fail to respond.
Pope Francis condemned violence in the midst of the migration process and the actions of some “developing countries that continue to be drained of their best natural and human resources for the benefit of a few privileged markets.”
POPE FRANCIS
Wars only affect some regions of the world, yet weapons of war are produced and sold in other regions which are then unwilling to take in the refugees generated by these conflicts. Those who pay the price are always the little ones, the poor, the most vulnerable.
To close the World Day of Migrants and Refugees, Pope Francis announced a symbolic gesture and went directly to the side of St. Peter's Square to reveal it.
It is a statue with the name, “Angels Unawares.” It represents 140 migrants from different cultures on a boat. This gesture reminds people that, as the motto of the day suggests, it is about much more than migrants.
Daniel Díaz Vizzi
Translated: Rachel Dobrzynski
