During the November mid-term holidays, a group of fifth-year secondary students from St Paul’s Missionary College, accompanied by MSSP priests, worked voluntarily for five days in Rome with the homeless communities.
Through this initiative, students from St Paul’s Missionary College together with students from the Archbishop’s minor Seminary had the opportunity to live the message of the Gospel, “as you did at least among my brothers, you did with me” (Matthew 25:40).
This experience was carried out in collaboration with Caritas Rome, an organisation committed to addressing poverty and homelessness. Caritas operates around 50 centres in Rome, of which the students visited two. At the “Don Luigi Di Liegro” soup kitchen near Termini Station, the team helped serve meals to more than 400 people each evening, while at the “Mensa Giovanni Paolo II” in Colle Oppio, they lent a helping hand during the morning canteen, which provides meals to a similar number each day.
These canteens were set up to address the immediate need for food. They are built on a philosophy that upholds the value and dignity of each individual. Meals are an opportunity to engage with people in a spirit of fraternity, fostering a welcoming environment while serving their basic needs. Students actively facilitated the service — distributing food, cleaning food items, cleaning tables, and talking to guests to listen to their personal stories.
This initiative is part of the commitment of the Missionary College of St Paul, to convey to its students the values of the Missionary society of St Paul, in order to maintain human dignity. The value of each person is at the heart of the College’s ethos.