This is the moment when Pope Francis blesses 13 keys. They have a very special meaning. Each one represents a country in which the organization Famvin Homeless Alliance will promote housing solutions, an idea that dates back years.
MARK MCGREEVERY
Coordinator of Famvin Homless Aliance
It goes back to actually 1643, when Vincent de Paul in Paris was working with street children, and at that time all he could do was feed them. But he wanted to do something more systemic. Louis XVI of France died and left Vincent the equivalent of €1 million in his will, and with this he bought 13 houses in Paris to house street children. So not only did he house them, but he gave them an education. So he taught them to read and to write. And then before they left, before they reached adulthood, he also taught them a skill that would allow them to work.
This project was created to commemorate the 400th anniversary of the work carried out by Vincent de Paul. The 13 houses were transformed into a project to build homes in at least 160 countries. The goal is to accommodate 10,000 people.
Pope Francis chose this project as a sign of charity during the Jubilee. In fact, he specifically requested that Syria be one of the 13 countries where the initiative could be carried out.
PADRE TOMAŽ MAVRIČ
Superior General of the Congregation
There are wars, needs, and poor people all over the world. But Syria is a country that is still in conflict, still in poverty. Poverty is increasing, but the news is no longer talking about Syria. Now we are talking about it. There are other countries that are more in the news. Then the Pope said: We have to remember and not forget Syria.
The blessed keys are symbolic, representing the 13 countries, including Syria, Australia, Brazil, Cambodia and Ukraine.
The keys’ symbolism does not stop there. Looking at the neck of the key, there is an image:
PADRE TOMAŽ MAVRIČ
Superior General of the Congregation
We have an abandoned person, homeless, powerless, without anything to cover himself with. Then a dove is covering him with a sheet. It means the Holy Spirit, God, Jesus, who is covering that person. The Holy Spirit, as well as God and Jesus, is there helping the most marginalized people.
This image may look familiar because it is the same sculpture that Pope Francis blessed in 2022 in St. Peter's Square.
It was a gift from the sculptor Timothy Schmalz to the Vincentian family. It is an image that has returned to the Vatican and, thus, forms part of the keys to this project for the underprivileged.
BAM
TR: GS
