Foggia church offers shelter from heat to the homeless

(ANSA) - ROME, AUG 19 - A church in Cerignola, near the Puglia city of Foggia, is offering shelter from the heat to the homeless and farmhands during the hottest hours of the day.
    Father Giuseppe Ciarciello, 36, who is the parish priest of the church of San Domenico in Cerignola, decided to open the church's doors after 1 pm to the homeless as well as to seasonal farmhands working in the countryside around town.
    "It's a really small thing that aims to remind everyone to keep their hearts open to others", the priest told ANSA.
    Ciarciello, who is originally from the nearby town of Stornara and knows how hot it can get in the area, said that over the Ferragosto national holiday in mid-August he noticed "the square in front of the church was full of youths and men: they were lying on the pavement in the shade.
    "So I thought I could open the door and offer them the space usually reserved to worshippers.
    "They can enjoy air conditioning as well as fresh water and electrical outlets to recharge their phones".
    The priest said most of the people who seek shelter are "men who arrive in Italy looking for a future or who have lost everything".
    "They have behind them stories of past failures or a present made of exploitation and it's impossible to remain indifferent", he explained.
    The church, which can host up to 500 people, will remain open from 1 until 5 in the afternoon "so we have the possibility of cleaning up before Mass at 6, although if someone wants to stay after that time, we will remain open", he assured. (ANSA).