World Day of Poor: Bishops in Malawi Urge Catholic Media to Foster “solidarity” Narratives

Established by Pope Francis in 2016 at the end of the Extraordinary Jubilee Year of Mercy, the World Day of the Poor is commemorated on the 33rd Sunday in Ordinary Time.  

The seventh World Day of the Poor will be celebrated with the theme "Do not turn your face away from anyone who is poor" taken from the Book of Tobit 4:7

In his message for the event, Pope Francis says the voices of the poor are not being heard. 

“We are living in times that are not particularly sensitive to the needs of the poor. The pressure to adopt an affluent lifestyle increases, while the voices of those dwelling in poverty tend to go unheard,” the Holy Father said in the message signed on the June 13 feast day of St. Anthony of Padua.

 The Holy Father called on everyone to be involved in helping the poor saying, “The parable of the Good Samaritan (cf. Lk 10:25-37) is not simply a story from the past; it continues to challenge each of us in the here and now of our daily lives.”

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“It is easy to delegate charity to others, yet the calling of every Christian is to become personally involved,” said the Pope.

In Malawi, the national World Day of the Poor will be celebrated at Salanya Outstation of St. Peter Claver (Mwanga) Parish in the Archdiocese of Blantyre, Fr. Mtseka announced in the November 2 statement.

Magdalene Kahiu is a Kenyan journalist with passion in Church communication. She holds a Degree in Social Communications from the Catholic University of Eastern Africa (CUEA). Currently, she works as a journalist for ACI Africa.