Stay up to date with notifications from The Independent

Notifications can be managed in browser preferences.

Pope gives 3,000 ice creams to poor and homeless people

Pontiff celebrates St George's Day with 'most needy' of Rome

Tom Embury-Dennis
Tuesday 24 April 2018 09:31 BST
Comments
The pontiff paid for 3,000 servings of gelato
The pontiff paid for 3,000 servings of gelato

The Pope has marked his name day by ordering thousands of ice creams for poor and homeless people.

Pope Francis, who was born Jorge (George) Mario Bergoglio, celebrated St George’s Day with “the most needy and homeless of Rome”, a Vatican statement said.

On Monday, he paid for 3,000 servings of gelato to be handed out to guests at soup kitchens and shelters across Italy’s capital.

The pontiff is known to have a sweet tooth, particularly for the caramel dulce de leche specialty of his native Argentina.

At one soup kitchen run by the Vatican's Caritas charity, a container of vanilla and chocolate gelato was served alongside a lunch of pasta to guests.

Charity workers distribute ice creams to guests at a community centre in Rome

Pope Francis has made a point of taking care of Rome's poor and homeless, inviting them to occasional lunches, concerts and museum visits at the Vatican, and providing them with sleeping bags, free showers, barbers and laundry services.

The pontiff is known to have a sweet tooth 

For his 80th birthday, he invited eight homeless people to breakfast, where they ate pastries from his native Argentina.

Earlier this month, the pontiff argued caring for migrants and the poor is as holy as taking a stand against abortion.

Pope Francis, who has clashed with US president Donald Trump on immigration and has made defence of migrants a critical part of his papacy, urged followers to battle for the rights of the poor with as much commitment as they would show in resisting the termination of pregnancies.

Additional reporting by AP

Join our commenting forum

Join thought-provoking conversations, follow other Independent readers and see their replies

Comments

Thank you for registering

Please refresh the page or navigate to another page on the site to be automatically logged inPlease refresh your browser to be logged in