Pope meets refugees and children with disabilities

STORY: The Pope greeted the children from a wheelchair during the gathering in the Vatican’s San Damaso courtyard.

The children, many of them with physical, visual, and cognitive disabilities attend the Sant’Alessio – Margherita di Savoia institute in Rome. They were joined by some refugee children from Ukraine who have been received in Rome by the Church of St. Sophia.

The ‘Children’s Courtyard’ initiative, an annual meeting between Pope Francis and minors living in vulnerable and socially fragile conditions, had been suspended for two years due to the pandemic.