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By Elisabetta Povoledo<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n Reporting from Vatican City<\/p>\n\n\n\n April 25, 2025<\/p>\n\n\n\n Throughout his papacy, Francis was an outspoken advocate for the downtrodden. Shortly after he was elected in 2013 he said, \u201cHow I would like a church that is poor and for the poor.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n But Francis, who died on Monday at 88, didn\u2019t just pay lip service.<\/p>\n\n\n\n When the vehicle carrying his coffin pulls up at the Basilica of Santa Maria Maggiore, where he will be buried on Saturday, a group of \u201cpoor and needy\u201d people will be waiting on the steps, the Vatican said this week. After all, the statement added, the pope \u201chad chosen the name Francis to never forget them.\u201d St. Francis of Assisi renounced his wealth to live in poverty.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Marginalized groups will be present at the funeral, the Vatican said Friday.<\/p>\n\n\n\n One of the first people to pay their respects when Francis was brought to St. Peter\u2019s Basilica on Wednesday was Sister Genevi\u00e8ve Jeanningros, who until last year lived in a camper in a fairground outside Rome, serving those in need. She was in regular contact with Francis, who visited the fairground, and images of her weeping in front of his coffin moved many.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Closer to his own home, Francis \u201cstrongly supported\u201d transforming the Vatican post office located on the right side of the colonnade of St. Peter\u2019s Square into a free medical clinic for the homeless and for undocumented migrants. The\u00a0clinic opened in 2018<\/a>\u00a0and averages 100 visits a day, said its director, Dr. Massimo Ralli.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cIt\u2019s putting the Gospel into practice because caring for people is one of the aspects of charity,\u201d said Dr. Ralli. \u201cSo it absolutely mirrors the message of the Holy Father toward the least.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n Showers for the homeless were set up near the clinic. This week they are closed, because tens of thousands have poured into St. Peter\u2019s to pay homage to Francis, who lies in state in the basilica. But the throngs do not seem to have caused any inconvenience to the homeless, who each night shelter under the square\u2019s majestic colonnade.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Often, they use tents distributed by the Dicastery for the Service of Charity, an ancient office of papal charities to which Francis gave freer rein, under the leadership of Cardinal Conrad Krajewski.<\/p>\n\n\n\n <\/p>\n\n\n\n In 2019<\/a>, Francis blessed a four-story Vatican property behind the left colonnade of the Basilica when he opened a shelter that provides housing for about 50 people.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cThe pope has had a very strong focus on the poor from the beginning,\u201d said Carlo Santoro of the Sant\u2019Egidio Community, a Rome-based charity that runs the building. Francis often ate with the homeless and invited them to annual concerts at the Vatican. He was also outspoken on prison conditions, and one of his final public outings last week was to visit inmates at Rome\u2019s Regina Coeli prison.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cFrancis gave immense emphasis to aid to the poor, not just the poor in Rome, but the poor around the world,\u201d he added, citing trips by Cardinal Krajewski to take supplies to Ukraine. The most recent trip was this month<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n These initiatives haven\u2019t always gone down well with members of the Curia, as the Vatican administration is known.\u00a0In the late 1980s,<\/a>John Paul II and Mother Teresa opened a soup kitchen and dormitory for women inside the Vatican that still feeds dozens daily.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Both Mr. Santoro and Dr. Ralli expressed concerns that the next pope might not have the same priorities as Francis. That is a concern, too, of Piero Di Domenicantonio, the former editor of the Vatican newspaper, the Osservatore Romano, who began publishing a monthly\u00a0street newspaper<\/a>\u00a0by and for the homeless three years ago when he retired.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cThe paper incarnates everything Pope Francis taught us about social issues and service of charity,\u201d Mr. Di Domenicantonio said. It was inspired by him, \u201cand he encouraged us to continue.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n Francis also promoted his message of charity in more controversial ways, commissioning a contemporary sculptor to create works representing his inclusive vision for St. Peter\u2019s Square.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The latest work, by the Canadian artist Timothy P. Schmalz, was installed this month on the colonnade directly in front of the clinic. Titled \u201cBe Welcoming,\u201d it depicts a person in a simple robe and sandals with a staff and angel\u2019s wings. It was put there \u201cto bring attention to what is behind,\u201d Mr. Schmalz said in a telephone interview.<\/p>\n\n\n\n![\"A](\"https:\/\/static01.nyt.com\/images\/2025\/04\/25\/multimedia\/25pope-poor-02-blfk\/25pope-poor-02-blfk-articleLarge.jpg?quality=75&auto=webp&disable=upscale\")
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