On the occasion of the World Day of the Poor (November 17, 2019), we attended the a concert held in the Vatican at “Raggi di Sole,” our daytime center for the homeless. It was touching and exciting to see this Hall – which has about 600 seats – full of men and women of various nationalities.

Many of our friends also enjoyed this occasion of beauty. One of them tells us about this experience:
“For many reasons, this was a very special and different day -- an unusual full immersion contact with a world not affected by the usual daily struggle for survival. Instead, it was a day of pure sharing, together with friends: the Sisters of the Center and many other people who gathered there. This was the concert held on occasion of the World Day of the Poor promoted by Pope Francis. The concert was held in the beautiful Nervi Hall, with its light effects on the statues that adorn the background. The lights were reminiscent of the splendor of the Northern Lights; a rising dawn of the soul, corroborated by the sometimes majestic music of the musicians Nicola Piovani and Marco Frisina.

Sr. Vera Crisafulli and Sr. Antonietta Urdì with the group of “Raggi di Sole” Center at Nervi Hall in the Vatican The immersive atmosphere crossed social differences. This was well represented by the unanimity of the instruments, each one essential to the construction of the symphony. The same atmosphere enveloped the participants who were united by the love for music and an awareness of belonging to a unique species that Einstein called the human race, with all its defects and contradictions, whose blood is red for everyone regardless of social class. We were happy to be there together, poor and wealthy -- all grateful for the gift of life and united by a dream in which goodness, sharing and affection are not empty words.

Thanks to this concert we felt these emotions, we experienced how beautiful it is, even for a day, to breathe the meaning together. And if, absurdly enough, all of us were able to follow the commandments given to us by our Lord, we would no longer need to die to go to Heaven because we would already have built it here on earth: this was the dream that hovered in the Nervi Hall... “

By Raggi di Sole Center

Published: February 20, 2020