330,000 people in need receive Christmas lunch around the world

By Kielce Gussie

For 80,000 people in Italy and 250,000 others around the world, Christmas Day lunch was prepared by the Community of Sant’Egidio and the Italian police, the Carabinieri. This year, the police delivered gifts to children and desserts for meals organized around Rome.

A table without borders

On the first full day of the Jubilee Year of Hope, the Community of Sant’Egidio prepared Christmas Day meals for the homeless, the elderly and families struggling to provide for themselves. The meals were organized thanks to the support of volunteers, whose aim was to spread a message of hope to those facing challenges and “to everyone in a time marked by deep crises in various parts of the world and by too many wars.

Crowds enjoying a meal in the Basilica of Santa Maria in Trastevere on Christmas Day 2022

For everyone who came to the luncheon, distinctions of class, salary, social status or heritage disappeared and everyone received a personalized gift.

A Roman Christmas meal

A tradition that dates back to 1982, when the first Christmas meal with the poor took place, the celebration began in the Basilica of Santa Maria in Trastevere. The event took place not only in Rome but in 70 other countries.

In Rome’s Trastevere district, the basilica was filled with people from all walks of life, including refugees who arrived in Italy through humanitarian corridors. The lunch menu included lasagna, meatloaf, lentils and traditional Christmas desserts.