Vatican City, May 12, 2011 / 08:52 am
It’s a little known Vatican fact but the Pope has his own train station. Thing is, it’s been dormant for years – until now. May 21 will see a 1930s steam train leave the Vatican City Station for a trip to the Italian countryside. And it’s all to raise money for the Holy See’s official charity, Caritas.
“It’s a rare opportunity and certainly a very joyful way to come together ahead of our General Assembly and reflect on who we are and where we are going,” Monsignor Robert J. Vitillo, head of the Caritas International delegation to Geneva, told Vatican Radio May 11.
The event coincides with Caritas’s 19th International Assembly being held in Rome as well as their 60th anniversary.
In total, five passenger carriages will be pulled by a steam engine. The train is being nicknamed the “Caritas Express” for the day, and each engine will be dedicated to a particular patron saint of the poor and vulnerable. Seats are still available to the general public.