Poor Pope Francis named the thirty-third Sunday in Ordinary time (a liturgical calender) the First World Day of the Poor. It fell on November 19, 2017.
The Catholic Archdiocese of Taiyuan, Nanjing Cathedral of the Immaculate Conception, and Hebei Jinde Aged Home cared for the poor in response to the initiative, Faith Weekly reported.
The Archdiocese of Taiyuan suggested its parishes set up groups that serve poor people and hold philanthropic lectures and publicity campaigns. The priests led believers to pray for the poor and explained the value of caring for poor people in homilies at Mass last Sunday. What was more, the archdiocese's social service center will hold a charity evening party on January 6, 2018.
The Nanjing Cathedral, locally known as Shigu Road Cathedral, hosted a bazaar and the earnings would be invested in the church's charities. The nursing home in Hebei received a person with financial difficulties on Nov. 17.
The needy person was paralyzed for four years and unable to look after himself. His wife suffered from poliomyelitis since childhood. His daughter was forced to drop out of school at 14 due to his father's high treatment fee to work odd jobs. His eighty-year-old mother took after him. The family lived in an old house with a debt of over 280,000 yuan. Founded in 2002, the aged home has received 78 lonely elderly people free of charge.
According to Vatican Radio, Pope Francis proposed the World Day of the Poor initiative during the Extraordinary Jubilee Year of Mercy. The initiative called on the Christian community to give a helping hand to the socially marginalized. The Day's message title for the Day was "Let Us Love, Not with Words but with Deeds".
- Translated by Karen Luo
