At the close of the Jubilee of Mercy, the Pope has invited 6,000 people living on the streets on a pilgrimage to Rome. We encourage you to support them with your prayers from 3 – 11 November, with the novena to the Saint Martins! The month of November is overflowing with Saint Martins – there…
It all started when Yannick, a retired engineer, met Serge “the Gaul”, a former fisherman who is now homeless. In 2005, Serge was sleeping in the doorway of the car park in Nantes that Yannick used on a regular basis. They began by saying hello to each other, then a little small talk, and eventually…
Meeting with Martin Johnstone, Church of Scotland Nineteen pilgrims from Glasgow (west of Scotland) and Leeds (north of England) will be travelling together to Rome to be part of what we are sure will be an utterly amazing experience. Some of us we have never travelled this far before and the last few weeks have…
When speaking to the different European organisations involved in Fratello, we hear the same reaction over and over again: “…when I heard the news about the Pope’s invitation, I was astounded, it corresponded exactly to something that I had wanted to do but didn’t know how to go about it.” This was also the case…
“I am proud. Proud to see that our pilgrims, who sometimes find it hard to cope in their everyday lives, are so enthusiastic about this trip and have not had any particular concerns or fears. And I am also proud that the Catholic Church has instigated this challenge.” The heartfelt words of Bo Heide-Jochimsen, Head…
It all began with an encounter. “Three years ago, I heard the testimony given by Etienne Villemain, the founder of Lazare[1].” A life-changing moment, which made Ugo want to “experience what it is like to live with people who have lost everything.” The radicalness of this commitment did not scare the young man, who after…
Central and Eastern European countries will be well represented at Fratello, including several unexpected participants. “We have been pleasantly surprised by requests from organisations which we were not expecting to hear from, or even from those that we did not know about beforehand. Take Jeanette, for example, who runs a charitable organisation providing meals, she…
Grégory Turpin is a French pop singer signed to Universal Music. A committed Christian, he is going to Rome with Fratello. I first came across the Order of Malta in France four years ago. I wanted to set up a shared breakfast in my parish in Paris and the teams from their vulnerability service helped…
He apologises from the outset for not being able to stay on the phone for long. “I’m really sorry, but could you call me back? I haven’t got a lot of minutes left on my contract.” Like a lot of students, Xavier isn’t exactly rolling in it and the same is true for his two…
When I saw the invitation, I thought it was a joke. I thought to myself, Surprise Surprise!” Paul Georges still can’t take it in, he and his friends at Poverello have been invited by Pope Francis on a pilgrimage to Rome! For nearly 40 years, the Poverello has run soup kitchens across Belgium for vulnerable…
