Throughout his pontificate, Francis has made numerous gestures to the Roma people—an ethnic nomadic group. He visited their neighborhoods, received them in private audiences and expressed his solidarity with them.
After one of his General Audiences, Pope Francis spoke about this with Fr. Oscar, a delegate for Roma pastoral care in a diocese in Spain. The Pope gave him several pieces of advice on how to carry out his task.
FR. ÓSCAR TRUJILLO
Pastor for Roma Groups in Spain
The Pope showed a lot of interest. He stopped and told me that he had sent me two messages. which I think were very beautiful and important. The first one was to welcome the Roma people, and to open our doors to them. And the second was that we should make them feel at home. He told me: “So that they don't leave.” Because if they don't feel loved and if they're not welcomed, they will leave. So, he told me, “Love them a lot and make them feel at home.”
Pope Francis took his own message to heart when he traveled to Slovakia in 2021. There he met with one of the largest Roma communities in Europe. The Pope called for a pastoral approach that would integrate and not marginalize the 4,300 Roma people living in the country.
ARCHIVE 2021
POPE FRANCIS
Where there is care for the person, where there is pastoral work, where there is patience and concrete action, the fruits arrive. Not immediately, over time, but they come. Judgments and prejudices only increase the gap. Contrasts and strong words do not help.
This was not the only encounter between Pope Francis and the Roma people. In 2019, he met with this group, whose testimonies were very moving.
ARCHIVE 2019
FR. CHRISTIAN DI SILVO
I remember when I talked about it with my seminary classmates. The first thing they asked me was if I lived in a trailer, if I begged, and if my family used to steal wallets at the Termini train station.
That same year, the Pope also met with a Roma family in Rome who had faced racist insults and threats. During the encounter, Pope Francis expressed his solidarity with all those who experience this type of violence simply due to their ethnicity.
FR. ÓSCAR TRUJILLO
Pastor for Roma Groups in Spain
They are a very welcoming people. They're a people who have suffered throughout history; a people who continue to suffer in many contexts, but also a people who are grateful for all the expressions of kindness. I always say that a person from the Roma community, when they open their heart, they really open it to you; and when they give it, they give it to you forever. And in them, when you win their heart, you find a faithful friend.
The Roma people continue to face great difficulties on a daily basis. According to data from the European Union Agency for Fundamental Rights, 80% of the Roma live at risk of poverty.
CA
TR: KG
