08/02/2001

Ruini Thanks the �Fishers of Men� of Sant�Egidio
Mass in St. John Lateran for the 33rd Anniversary of the Community:
10,000 Volunteers in Rome Alone

�Fishers of men� was what Cardinal Vicar Camillo Ruini called them during his homily. They are the volunteers of the Community of Sant�Egidio � 30,000 worldwide, with around 10,000 in Rome alone � which yesterday afternoon celebrated the 33rd anniversary of its founding with a Mass in the Basilica of St. John Lateran. �The Holy Church embraces you warmly for your commitment to welcoming your neighbor, because you have never forgotten the importance of communicating the Gospel. Only the word of Christ can save the world from barbarization, and inspire love,� said Ruini before a group of at least 5,000 faithful, including not only volunteers but also the poor, the elderly, and newly arrived immigrants: some of the many who find comfort and basic support in the Community of Sant�Egidio and its complex in Trastevere.

Those present included the President of the Senate, Nicola Mancino, the Governor of the Bank of Italy, Antonio Fazio, and the Minister for Parliamentary Relations, Patrizia Toja, as well as forty bishops, representatives of the Eastern and Protestant churches, Cardinals Cassidy, Cheli, Colasuonno, and Rossi, and newly-appointed cardinals Pompedda, Sebastiani and Meya. The volunteers of Sant�Egidio also received the Pope�s blessing: �That the treasure of grace received in the Great Jubilee may be transformed into a renewed surge of holiness, testimony, and Catholic commitment.� The festivities continued following the Mass with a reception in the Basilica.

�To choose the poor is to choose God,� stated Ruini. And the Community has cared for the poor of Rome and the world since 1968, when Andrea Riccardi gathered a group of friends and students from the Liceo Virgilio to put the Gospel into practice. The small group began by organizing afterschool activities in the shantytowns on the outskirts of Rome. Today the Community of Sant�Egidio is spread over almost 60 countries, on four continents. In 1986 the Church recognized it as an international public association. Last February 1, in Paris, it was awarded the Unesco Peace Prize.

Beyond caring for the poor through its cafeterias and boarding houses here in Rome, the Community is committed to humanitarian causes: it has collected 3,200,000 signatures in 145 countries for a universal moratorium on the death penalty; it is involved in a campaign for the liberation of prisoners in Mozambique, in the fight against AIDS, and in helping the earthquake victims in El Salvador.