Pope Francis blesses the 13 Casas project and finances construction in Syria

On the recent World Day of the Poor, Pope Francis blessed the symbolic keys of the homes that will be built in thirteen countries as part of the “13 Houses” project, an initiative promoted by the “Vincentian Family” to bring hope to vulnerable families in the framework of Jubilee 2025.

The Famvin Alliancea network of the Vincentian Family with the homeless (FHA for its acronym in English), leads this project inspired by the legacy of Saint Vincent Paul to “bring relief to families suffering from homelessness around the world.”

The “13 Houses” initiative will take place in Syria, Australia, Brazil, Cambodia, Central African Republic, Chile, Costa Rica, Italy, Senegal, Tanzania, Tonga, the United Kingdom and Ukraine.

The works will continue until November 2025 with the support of the Holy See, which will finance the homes built in Syria as one of the “concrete gestures of charity” for the Jubilee Year, highlighting the serious crisis caused by the ongoing civil war .

The campaign coordinator, Nalie Monteza, explained in conversation with ACI Prensa that the chosen countries “represent all the continents where we will address the needs of people who represent all types of homelessness”, from people without housing, in temporary housing or in not decent housing.

Why 13 countries? To “maintain the link with Saint Vincent de Paul and his works, since in 1643 he built 13 houses for dozens of abandoned children that over time became schools and workshops so that they had a trade and could be independent,” he explained.

A gesture of hope for the Jubilee Year

According to data from the United Nations, one in five people in the world lives in conditions of homelessness for different reasons. Faced with this reality, the Vincentian Family launched the campaign in 2017 to commemorate the 400th anniversary of the birth of its charism.

Since 2018, this campaign has offered accommodation and assistance to more than 10,000 people in 70 countries around the world. Now, with “13 Houses,” his goal is to draw global attention to this problem during the Jubilee Year.

The initiative “is also the way to assist the call made by Pope Francis in the Bull of Convocation of the Holy Year to ‘be tangible signs of hope for so many brothers and sisters who live in conditions of hardship,’” Monteza noted.

For the coordinator, this is “an opportunity to talk about the work that brings hope that we have been carrying out, and that we want to expand, so that with the help of others, more and more people can leave the situation of homelessness permanently.”

Pope Francis blesses the 13 keys

Before the Mass celebrated on Sunday, November 17, within the framework of this day, Pope Francis blessed the bronze keys, sculpted by the renowned Catholic artist Timothy Schmalz, in which you can see how a dove in flight wraps a mint around a homeless person.

“The blessing has been a very moving moment where I perceived in the gaze of Pope Francis, and in his gesture of joined hands raised towards our keys, a communion of prayers with the objectives of the campaign,” Monteza remarked.

Schmalz is the author of other works such as the so-called “Shelter”, a life-size bronze sculpture that shows the figure of a homeless person who the Holy Father blessed after a General Hearing in 2022.

He has also sculpted “Unconscious Angels”, the sculpture that honors the refugees in St. Peter’s Square and the bronze Jesus made in life size and represented as a homeless man lying on a bench at the entrance to the offices. of Apostolic Alms.

For his part, FHA coordinator and president of Depaul International, Mark McGreevy, noted that “the blessing of the keys by Pope Francis is a milestone in our mission to reach the most vulnerable and spread the message of hope and charity.” that the Church promotes. By focusing on housing, we respond to a fundamental need, embodying the call of the Jubilee.”

Towards the World Day of the Poor in 2025

The “13 Houses” project will culminate on the World Day of the Poor in 2025, with a pilgrimage of families from the 13 countries to St. Peter’s Basilica, where they will receive a special blessing from the Holy Father.

Fr. Tomaž Mavrič, CM, Superior General of the Congregation of the Mission and President of the Executive Board of the Vincentian Family, described the initiative as “a path of hope that reaffirms our commitment to fighting homelessness throughout the world.” world”.

According to Natalie Monteza told ACI Prensa, “the keys will be kept in a safe place during the jubilee year in Rome, awaiting the pilgrimage of the families that we plan for 2025, where we hope they will receive the keys to their homes.”