From the Vatican:
The Office of the Papal Almoner released a statement on Thursday connecting the feast of St. George—Jorge Mario Bergoglio’s name-day—with an initiative offering coronavirus vaccines to the poor and homeless of Rome.
“On Friday, 23 April, the liturgical memorial of St. George the Martyr, Pope Francis’ name-day, the poor will again be at the center of the Holy Father’s attention,” read the statement.
Around 600 people will return to the Vatican’s Paul VI Hall for their second dose of the Pfizer-BioNTech coronavirus vaccine.
Those receiving the jab on Friday are among the 1,400 “beneficiaries of the vaccine drive begun during Holy Week by the Apostolic Almoner in collaboration with other associations.”
The statement added that those present will also take part in a celebration to mark the Holy Father’s name-day “with a surprise offered by the Pope.”
Cardinal Konrad Krajewski, the Papal Almoner, said the Pope had decided to “offer something, rather than receive, in a pure evangelical style.”
In 2020, the Pope sent respirators to Romania, which was particularly afflicted by the pandemic at the time.
An update on his day, from CNS:
Celebrating his name day, the feast of St. George, Pope Francis was serenaded by hundreds of Rome’s most vulnerable residents and the people who assist them.
The pope, who was born Jorge Mario Bergoglio, marked his birth saint’s feast April 23 by visiting people who came to the Vatican for the second dose of their COVID-19 vaccinations.
Close to 600 people were scheduled to receive the inoculations throughout the day. Photos of the pope with the special guests and Cardinal Konrad Krajewski, the papal almoner, showed stacks of sandwiches, fruit juice and cookies, as well as a large chocolate Easter egg, which was cracked and shared.
Pope Francis personally greeted those waiting for their shots in the atrium of the Vatican audience hall as well as those who had just received the vaccine and were under observation in case of an allergic reaction.
“As he left, those present sang” their best wishes to the pope for his name day, the Vatican press office said.
