Preparatory booklet for the 8th World Day of the Poor is now available online
The Prayer guide in preparation for the 8th World Day of the Poor, prepared by the Dicastery for Evangelization, can be downloaded online, free of charge. The event will be celebrated on Sunday, November 17, 2024, with a Mass presided over by Pope Francis at 10am in St. Peter's Basilica in the Vatican. Currently, the booklet is available in Italian and Portuguese, and translations into other languages will soon be available.
The Pope has chosen a particularly significant motto for this year’s World Day of the Poor - a year dedicated to prayer, in preparation for the Holy Year of 2025: "The prayer of the poor rises up to God" (cf. Sir 21:5). The World Day of the Poor has become more and more an integral part of the Church’s year in the hearts and minds of Christians around the world as is shown by the numerous initiatives which are held annually – the result of the creative charity that animates and inspires people’s faith commitment.
The new pastoral aid is a simple tool offered to dioceses, parishes and church organizations, to help them prepare for and celebrate this year’s World Day of the Poor, so that it may be a powerful occasion in which to turn our gaze towards the poor, listen to their voice and help them feel our closeness to them.
“On this journey towards the Jubilee of 2025”, underlined the Pro-prefect of the Dicastery, Archbishop Rino Fisichella, “may our attention to the neediest make us all become Pilgrims of hope. That is what is needed in a world which must be illuminated by the presence of the Light of the Risen One and warmed by the flame of charity He has lit in our hearts.”
As Father Lorenzo Gasparro emphasizes in the Booklet: "The prayer of the poor is not only an act of supplication, but a privileged way to access the mercy of God."
His reflection invites us to consider how, through poverty, we can rediscover a profound bond with divine compassion.
The booklet can be downloaded at the link:
http://www.evangelizatio.va/content/pcpne/en/attivita/gmdp/2024/sussidio.html