Pope Francis prayed the Angelus in St. Peter's Square on the fifth annual World Day of the Poor. He explained the theme for this year's celebration inspired by Mark's Gospel: “The poor you will always have with you.”
POPE FRANCIS
'Humanity progresses, develops, but the poor are always with us, there are always the poor, and in them Christ is present, Christ is present in the poor.'
The Pope also recalled the closing of the COP26 UN climate summit in Glasgow.
POPE FRANCIS
'The cry of the poor, united with the cry of the Earth, resounded in recent days at the United Nations Climate Change Summit COP26 in Glasgow.'
Diplomats from over 200 countries met in Glasgow to accelerate action aimed at limiting global warming to 1.5 degrees Celsius by the end of the century. Yet climate activists widely agree that the summit's final agreements fail to address the urgency of the climate crisis.
POPE FRANCIS
'I encourage all those with political and economic responsibilities to act now with courage and vision; at the same time, I invite all people of good will to exercise active citizenship for the care of our common home.'
He also prayed for the individuals affected by diabetes and their caretakers on World Diabetes Day. The rain didn't stop pilgrims from around the world attending the Angelus, and the Pope commented on the many different flags present in St. Peter's Square.
JM
