Thousands of people from more than 90 countries gathered in Rome this week to celebrate the Catholic Church’s Jubilee of People with Disabilities.
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Wheelchairs rolled across cobblestones and walking aids clicked on the marble floors of St. Peter’s Basilica as people with disabilities passed through the Holy Door for the Jubilee of Hope, entrusting their prayers to the Lord.
“I pray for a better world, I pray for a world where inclusion becomes a normality,” 18-year-old Anna Maria Gargiulo from Perugia, Italy, told CNA.
“I am blind from birth, but for me this is not a problem,” she added. “I experience it rather as a possibility, because I look at the world with different eyes.”
More than 10,000 participants registered to take part in the April 28–29 event at the Vatican, which included an opportunity to have confessions heard by priests specifically trained to work with people with disabilities and time to adore the Lord in Eucharistic adoration.
Among those who traveled to the jubilee was Davide Andreoli, 32, from Ferrara, Italy. Living with cerebral palsy, he made his pilgrimage with his family and spoke with joy about the experience: “It’s beautiful! You can see the jubilee, Piazza del Popolo, Rome, the Colosseum.”
Andreoli shared how he made a confession before passing through the Holy Door offering a prayer for the late Pope Francis.
“I pray to God. For our pope, Pope Francis,” he said.
In St. Peter’s Square, families shared how faith helps them face life’s trials. Wanda Martena’s oldest son has special needs. She said: “Our family is a very close family, and we love each other very much and are happy. I have two children who are our jewels.”
“We face everything with a smile,” her son, Alessandro, added.
Michael Busuioc, a Romanian man with Parkinson’s disease, lives in the Vatican’s homeless shelter founded by Pope Francis. He recalled a powerful encounter with the pope last year during the World Day of the Poor.
“Pope Francis prayed for me. … I tell him, ‘Pray for me because I have a disease, Parkinson.’ He put the hand on my head and he prayed,” Busuioc recalled, showing a photo of him with the pope.
Archbishop Rino Fisichella, who is spearheading the Church’s jubilee year, offered Mass in the Basilica of St. Paul Outside the Walls for the jubilee participants. He prayed that the late Pope Francis’ legacy would inspire mercy and inclusion to continue to flourish in the Church.
Corina Ciunae, also from Romania, came to Rome with her scouting group. Passionate about communication, she emphasized the importance of visibility and dignity for people with disabilities.
“The most important thing is that we are people like everyone and we do the same things — but yes, we need the a little bit of help. We need to be helped,” she said.
“But together we can do all of the things we want to do and nothing is impossible. If you want to be somewhere to do something you can do, and the disability can’t stop you,” she said.
This article was originally published on Catholic News Agency.
