Turin, Italy, May 3, 2010 / 17:07 pm
During the Pope's visit to Turin on Sunday to venerate the Shroud and confirm the people of the city in the faith, the Holy Father stopped to see the sick and residents of the Little House of Divine Providence, founded by St. Joseph Benedict Cottolengo. He reminded the sick of their important contribution and highlighted the new life that "flowers" from Christ's passion.
The encounter was the last of the day and took place just after the Pope venerated the Shroud at the Cathedral of Turin, where he taught that the Icon "speaks to us," through blood, of the darkness and the light of Holy Saturday.
Remembering the founder of the "Little House" and the three religious families that have been born from it, the Holy Father expressed his gratitude to the sick as "the precious treasure of this house and of this work."
St. Cottolengo worked with the conviction that "the poor are Jesus, not his image," said Pope Benedict, remembering also that he referred to the poor as "our patrons." Moved by a love of Christ and man, he worked in "complete devotion to the service of the smallest and forgotten," recounted the Holy Father.