In the worst moment of the health emergency in Italy, the pope noted that the pandemic reminded humanity of an important message.
POPE FRANCIS
We have realized that we are in the same boat, all of us fragile and disoriented, but at the same time, important and needed.
The pontiff said the most effective ingredient in this moment is solidarity. There's no shortage of such examples, thanks to companies and individuals alike.
In Madrid, this luxury car rental company decided to donate the revenue earned during the lockdown period to Caritas.
During the year, this group of gondoliers participates in regattas and takes tourists around Venice. During the pandemic, they decided to help out by delivering groceries to the elderly.
ELENA ALMANSI
Row Venice
“We decided to use our boats, our time and our energy to help deliver groceries to people's homes. That way we combine our passion with volunteer work.”
María is a Venezuelan living in Italy. After her 46-year-old compatriot died of COVID-19 in Lombardy, she decided to welcome the man's widow and two kids into her own home.
MARÍA ÁVILA
Venezuelan immigrant
“I decided to help Nathalye in a concrete way. At 6 a.m., I took the car and went looking for the three of them, Nathalye and her two kids, to bring them to my house.”
Lotti and Desirèe are two nurses who work in an Italian hospital. After a particularly devastating shift, they decided to cheer up medical personnel with a rendition of “Imagine.” Their video made huge waves on social media.
LOTTI AND DESIRÉE
Nurses, Rivoli AslTo3 Hospital
Desirée: I was especially tired and discouraged. I needed to let everything out.
Lotti: In that moment, I remembered that we have a piano in the hospital, and I said to myself, 'Let's go play.'
One could say these and so many other stories embody the messages the pope has given throughout the pandemic.
POPE FRANCIS
May we not think only about what we lack, but about the good we can do.
They're small stories that emerge as a response to pain or to situations of need. They embody the spirit the pope called for from an empty St. Peter's Square, on a rainy evening one March 27.
Nobody saves himself alone.
Javier Romero
Translation: Claudia Torres
