Cardinal Almoner Krajewski inaugurates the premises of the former Convent of Sant’Agostino which are located in the center of the Sicilian city. The structure, managed by the Community of Sant’Egidio, was born after the realities of Rome, Genoa, Turin, Naples
Benedetta Capelli – Vatican City
It is a backbone of solidarity that now runs throughout Italy, touching the large urban centers and caressing the fragile lives of many men and women who live on the margins. The laundries and showers, opened by will of Pope Francis and managed by the Community of Sant’Egidio, first found space in Rome in 2017, then in Genoa in 2019, in Turin last year and in January 2024 in Naples. Today, May 17, at the Casa dell’Amicizia at number 318 of via Vittorio Emanuele, in the center of Catania, it was Cardinal Konrad Krajewski, the Pope’s almoner, who cut the ribbon on a new laundry and shower service offered free of charge to people most in difficulty. The initiative is conceived and promoted by Procter & Gamble, supported by the Apostolic Charity and implemented with the collaboration of Haier Europe.
Be close
In the rooms there are three washing machines, three dryers, the detergents necessary for doing laundry and a shower service. “When we help the poorest and most vulnerable – states Cardinal Krajewski – we are truly Christians, because we are in the midst of the Gospel. This initiative which is repeated over time is a source of joy for me because this is a further possibility of being close to wounded humanity, a way to demonstrate the presence and closeness of God to the least.” “A gift for all of Catania”: explains Emiliano Abramo, spokesperson for the Community of Sant’Egidio Sicilia, regarding the opening of the structure. “Putting the poor at the center and building networks or friendships around them – he adds – is the recipe for building more beautiful cities and more humane societies”.
A Church that responds to poverty
Pope Francis’ laundry is one of the responses that the Church implements to help the many vulnerable people of Catania, a city affected by significant economic poverty, which affects the majority of Italians, and by educational poverty. A recent alarm was raised due to the record that the Sicilian city boasts: in 2022, school dropout stood at around 25.2%. On the day in Catania, Cardinal Krajewski will visit the “Help Center” of the diocesan Caritas, near the central station, which offers meals to 500 people every day. The almoner will then move to Casa Betania, a structure in the Astalli Center which hosts migrant mothers and children and where the Capuchin Association of Communion and Liberation has organized after-school activities. Finally, in a mass in the Cathedral the 56th year of the foundation of the Community of Sant’Egidio will be remembered.
