No holidays for the homeless

By Alessandro Gisotti

The first words of a famous Italian song:Blue-The lyrics of the song “All year I wait for summer and suddenly it’s here” by Adriano Celentano, sum up well the spirit with which Italians, in all areas, experience the arrival of the long-awaited holidays. In Italy, as in other Western countries, holidays, free time, have long been recognized as a true right. The Popes themselves have stressed the importance of taking free time to maintain important relationships, starting with the family, and to be able to savor Creation, offered freely to each of us. Thus, holidays are not synonymous with idleness, but rather a fruitful time to focus on the values ​​of life and slow down the pace when the pace of society prevents us from fully understanding what is happening around us every day.

At the same time, “going on vacation” immediately evokes man's natural tendency to travel. Man has always been on the move, perpetually on the move. As Saint Augustine said: “The world is a book. He who does not travel reads only one page.” It is no coincidence that today we commonly say “I am going on vacation,” using a verb that indicates movement; otherwise, vacations would not really be felt as such. However, in our sun-drenched cities, starting with Rome, which has long since ceased to be so popular with tourists, there is a whole “population” that does not go on vacation because this right, among many others, is denied to them: they are the poor. To them, invisible, or perhaps simply looked upon with indifference, this possibility will not be granted. A few years ago, much attention was paid to the news that the Pope’s chaplain, Cardinal Konrad Krajewski, had taken a group of homeless people to spend a day at the beach. The first visit of a group of homeless people to the Sistine Chapel, offered by the Pope, was equally surprising. These two seemingly small gestures were significant because they highlighted how much the poor – as well as, and even more than, those who do not live in poverty – need spaces and opportunities to enjoy themselves and appreciate the beauty of art, of which Italy is an inexhaustible treasure.

So why not try to imagine, during this summer of 2024, how every city, large or small, could organize such initiatives? After all, putting at the center those who are on the periphery, those who are so marginalized that often we do not even see them, is a way to repair our social and civil fabric. In doing so, we would discover that among those who are “discarded” there is a great wealth, not only of humanity, but also of professional experiences, cultures and intelligences, as can be seen in reading “L'Osservatore di Strada” (The Osservatore Romano(a monthly newspaper produced in collaboration with the poor) which highlights the stories of the very last members of society.

Alongside the poor, there is another “population” that suffers particularly in the summer and is very close to Pope Francis’ heart: the elderly. For them, emptying cities, diminishing public services and families moving away represent difficult challenges. As Archbishop Vincenzo Paglia observed, “our elderly do not die of heat but of loneliness and abandonment.” Yet it is grandparents who, during the rest of the year, assume the role of a true “welfare state,” especially for their grandchildren. From the beginning of his pontificate, the Pope has strongly emphasized the need for an alliance between young and old to open the future to a wounded humanity. He has encouraged young people not to leave the elderly alone, following the biblical example of Ruth, who did not abandon her elderly mother-in-law Naomi. There is no valid alternative to this mutual support between generations if we truly want to make the society in which we live more humane. At least this principle, Pope Francis seems to tell us, should never go on vacation.