Pope Francis will on Saturday meet
with refugees who have arrived in Italy and other European
countries under the humanitarian corridors programme providing
safe and legal entry for particularly vulnerable people fleeing
war, violence and persecution and integration support once they
have arrived, Ansa sources said Tuesday.
The audience will be held in the Paul VI audience hall in the
Vatican at 11:30.
The Humanitarian Corridors is an initiative of Italian faith
based organisations including Community of Sant'Egidio, the
Federation of Evangelical Churches, the Italian Bishops'
Conference-Italian Caritas and the Waldensian Table. Since 2016,
over 6,000 refugees and asylum seekers have arrived in Europe
under the programme, including more than 5,000 to Italy under a
series of protocols also involving the ministries of the
interior and foreign affairs and UNHCR, the UN Refugee Agency.
The refugees who will be attending the papal audience on
Saturday come from Syria, Iraq, Afghanistan, South Sudan,
Nigeria, Democratic Republic of Congo and Libya, among other
countries, and some will give testimonies. Representatives of
civil society organisations and families that have supported
them will also be present.
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