Pope Francis celebrates Mass with gardeners and cleaners

image: Spitfire at Enwikpedia

Pope Francis celebrated Mass this morning in the Chapel of the Domus Sanctae Marthae, with the gardeners and cleaning staff of Vatican City.

In his homily based on the day's readings, he focused on the Gospel passage of John which recounts the episode of the Jews who wanted to stone Jesus.

He told them: "When we have a heart of stone, it's as if we've picked up real stones and stoned Jesus Christ - in the person of our brothers and sisters, especially the weakest of them."

Concelebrating the Mass with Pope Francis, were Cardinale Raúl Eduardo Vela Chiriboga, Archbishop emeritus of Quito, Ecuador, Archbishop Lorenzo Baldisseri, secretary of the College of Cardinals and of the Congregation for Bishops, Mgr Alfred Xuereb and Mgr Battista Ricca, Director of the Domus.

Also present were sisters of three communities of women religious who work in Vatican City: the Daughters of Charity of St Vincent de Paul of the Santa Marta Paediatric Dispensary; the Daughters of the Sacred Hearts of Jesus and Mary – Ravasco Institute of the Casa San Benedetto, the home for retired apostolic nuncios; and the Sisters of the Presentation of the Blessed Virgin Mary in the Temple – who come from Krakow.

Source: VIS/MRT