Papal health clinics will provide free medical care to the poor ahead of a lunch between Pope Leo XIV and 1,300 people in need on Nov. 22.
On Nov. 15, the Dicastery for Evangelization will celebrate the 10th World Day of the Poor with Mass for people in need in St. Peter’s Basilica. Lunch with Pope Leo XIV will follow a week later on Nov. 22, after his trip in South America.
According to the Vatican, lunch will include ice cream donated by Guttilla Gelateria and will be accompanied by music from the National Fanfare of the Italian Red Cross. At the end, participants will leave with a personal hygiene kit donated by Procter & Gamble.
With Pope Leo completing his tour of South America, he has designated Archbishop Luis Marin de San Martin, OSA, prefect of the Dicastery for the Service of Charity, to celebrate the Mass in St. Peter’s Basilica on Nov. 15.
Free healthcare at the heart of the Vatican
Founded in 2015 under Pope Francis, the Madre di Misericordia Clinic, and, since 2025, the San Martino Clinic, continue to offer free medical consultations and medication to the poor and homeless in Rome. During the week of the World Day of the Poor, the clinics will be open for longer hours to provide general and specialist medical visits, cancer screenings, flu vaccines, and blood exams.
Dr. Massimo Ralli, undersecretary of the Dicastery for the Service of Charity, noted that an additional examination room has been added to one of the Vatican health clinics, which are designed for people who “do not have documents and cannot access the Italian healthcare system.”
These two clinics are run by 120 volunteers, including doctors, pharmacists, technicians, and nurses covering 26 specialties. Other volunteers give their time welcoming and talking to those who come to use the services, providing comfort in a nonmedical capacity.
“These people don’t know where to go so they come here and can access specialists in cardiology, ophthalmology, or gastroenterologists,” Ralli explained to EWTN News. The clinics also cover dental problems, because everyone struggles with this, he said, but especially if they do not have the wherewithal to manage the pain, “those who wish to go for job interviews [will struggle getting hired].”
To tackle this, Ralli explained that “if they need new teeth we also help them by covering the cost of new dentures.” Another area the clinics cover is eyesight, because people who cannot see struggle to live a full life “so in this place they can get a visit, and we can also get the glasses.”
On this 10th World Day of the Poor, the Church remembers what St. John Paul II said: “The poor are not a problem to be solved but a people to be welcomed and loved.”
This statement rings true today as the Vatican prepares to welcome around 1,300 of those living on the street to a lunch with the pontiff on Nov. 22. In welcoming those living on the margins as honored guests rather than strangers, the Vatican seeks to embody the spirit of St. Francis and bear witness to the truth that the Lord remains the refuge of the poor.
Follow the LIVE UPDATES from EWTN News in English for special coverage during Pope Leo’s Apostolic Trip to Uruguay, Argentina and Peru.
This article was originally published by EWTN News English.
