Pope Francis during lunch with the poor on the occasion of the VII World Day of the Poor in the Paul VI Hall on November 19th, 2023.
Pope Francis has made strides in the Catholic Church’s acceptance of transgender people over recent months, but recently took a dramatic step to ensure that his message was being received.
A group of transgender women with a history of personally interacting with the Pontiff were invited to join 1000 other poor and homeless guests for lunch to mark the Catholic Church’s World Day of the Poor.
The women were treated like VIPs, with one, a former sex worker, seated at the table with the Pope.
Assistance quickly came from the Pope’s chief almsgiver, who also made sure the women were vaccinated against COVID.
Many of the trans women were Latin American immigrants and ineligible to get the vaccine in Italy, so the church gave it to them directly.
To publicly indicate that the poor must be treated like the richest, the group dined on cannelloni pasta filled with spinach and ricotta plus meatballs in a tomato-basil sauce and cauliflower puree. »
