Francisco’s smile is reproduced on the entrance wall of an office in Luz, central to the city of São Paulo. The Pope’s office, who will soon be renamed with the name of the Pontiff, is an immediate response care initiative for the population living in the streets of the capital. The service has been serving two months, with integration between federal and municipal health policies.
The space is under the coordination of Father Julio Lancelloti, who also coordinates the Pastoral of the Street People of the Archdiocese of São Paulo, and for whom the presence of the Pontiff is beyond the image, name and inspiration.
“His legacy is this presence, which you do not see with the eyes, but feels in the heart,” said the priest, in an interview with Press this Tuesday (22).
Júlio Lancelloti stressed that Francis’ teachings should last a long time, because he was not a “only” Pope of the Catholic Church, but a Pope in the world, with concerns for current issues such as poverty and the environment.
“[Francisco] He was a Pope with ecological concern, with the concern of integral ecology. Never have we had an encyclical like the Laudato Si [sobre o Cuidado da Casa Comum, de 2015]It was an impact on humanity, and see that no environmental expert contested the encyclical, because the Pope did not write alone, did not sit there and wrote, he had the advisory of thousands of people. So this is beauty, a dense, deep, strong document, “said the parish priest. For the document, Francis criticized consumerism and appealed for the world to combine to combat environmental degradation.
Integrated with the basic health network, the service today offered vaccination to the population. “Unfortunately negationism has come on the street as well. So there is a natural fear or fantasies, but it’s just the proximity and contact you win. And it’s not immediate, it’s a long process. And how do you convince? How do you convince anyone? I will vaccinate too,” he explained after taking a dose of the immunizer.
For the priest, the street office is about experiencing the legacy of care, mercy, to welcome those that no one wants. “This care with the person, who” is a great legacy of Pope Francis, “he concluded.
