Dear brothers and sisters, good morning!

I am happy to be here with you today. I am grateful for the kind words of Bishop Jorge Lugones of the Diocese of Lomas de Zamora and of Brother Jorge Silanes, Director of this center. I would also like to thank Marta and Norma for sharing their testimonies. Thank you very much. Thank you all for the music, and for welcoming me with such enthusiasm and joy.

There are places, like this Home, where charity is not only expressed through deeds, but is clearly visible in every gesture, face and smile, and, we might even say, in the very air we breathe. Such is the “Little Cottolengo,” a fraternal community whose doors are always open, where everything speaks of God’s love.

Saint Luigi Orione, its founder, wanted this place to be known as a “city of charity.” He prayed and worked for many years to build it, trusting deeply in divine providence and driven by love for the weak and poor of society, who were often ignored and left to fend for themselves. As I reflected on the longing in the heart of Don Orione, a father and shepherd, three “cities” came to mind — places where Jesus, too, breathed the fresh air of freely given charity. They are Bethlehem, Nazareth and Bethany.

In Bethlehem, which means “House of Bread,” Jesus was lovingly welcomed, kept warm and nourished by Mary and Joseph. He was recognized with affection and admiration by the wise, as well as by the humble and simple. We can say that in Bethlehem, one senses a love for life, and that love transforms the cold poverty of the setting into the warmth of a home. It is a place that respects the dignity of every human person, valuing and welcoming all as a gift from God.

Years later, Nazareth became the city where Jesus learned to be part of a family and integrate into the community. Here he grew “in wisdom, and in years, and in divine and human favor” (Lk 2:52), and cultivated the value of work and responsibility. It is a place that does not exclude others, but rather incorporates them into social life, appreciating their talents and abilities and helping them fulfill their potential — as we have seen in Marta’s life and in the book she has written.

Finally, it was in Bethany, through the gift of friendship with Martha, Mary, and Lazarus, that Jesus experienced the value of authentic and sincere human relationships. In such relationships, no one is marginalized or abandoned.  Instead, there is companionship, listening, and counsel; faith and service are shared, along with sorrows and joys. In short, Bethany is a place that helps us move beyond individualism, a place where one feels loved and desires to love others in concrete ways. As Norma shared in her testimony, places like this make people feel accepted, cared for and loved just as they are.

As we can see, Jesus lived in places where he could breathe the air of charity; where he experienced the love of a family, integration into a community, and fraternal friendship, sharing life with his loved ones. I hope this brief reflection will encourage us to consider and give thanks for so many “cities of charity,” such as this Little Cottolengo, where the Gospel remains alive and active, here and now, in this beautiful country.

In this regard, I would like to recall some words which my predecessor Saint John Paul II addressed to a group of people with disabilities. He said that God’s love “is the foundation of our hope and the breath of our life. God has shown us in an unsurpassable way through Jesus Christ how much he loves every person and how immense is the dignity he has bestowed upon them through him. Precisely those who suffer from a physical or spiritual disability must recognize themselves as friends of Jesus, as those whom he loves in a special way” (Angelus, Osnabrück, 16 November 1980).

Dear brothers and sisters, many residents and staff members, religious men and women, family members and volunteers who contribute to this great work have come to today’s gathering. In their radiant eyes I can see such warmth; in their open hands I can recognize countless deeds of selfless service; in their generous hearts I can sense great tenderness and understanding. Thank you all for your examples of self-sacrifice and love of neighbor.

The noble work that you carry out here every day, with such affection, effort and dedication, is building a solid foundation for a new city: a city of charity, of fellowship and of peace. It is certainly a “slower, less visible and less spectacular” building project than that of other kinds of cities, but it “is this prospect of commitment, this construction site of hope, that we call the ‘civilization of love’ (Magnifica Humanitas, 185).

The values of dignity, belonging, and fraternal friendship that distinguish places like this have much to say to our societies, which are often driven solely by the pursuit of economic success or the cult of outward appearance. Today I would like to affirm that your lives are not a burden on society. They are a blessing, because you can help us to remember the foundation of the dignity of every human being and what is truly important in life. A nation’s progress is also measured by how it welcomes all people with disabilities and particular needs.

In this special moment, I would like to share with you all my hope for this country: that Argentina may be capable of performing great works of charity, such as we see here, where the love of Christ triumphs over individualism and exclusion. I dream of thousands of young people volunteering to contribute to the great legacy of charity that the sincere and simple faith of the Argentinian people has built up over the centuries. I dream that a new generation of saints devoted to charity might be forged in Argentina! Indeed, why shouldn’t all of you be among them? The love of Christ urges us on! (cf. 2 Cor 5:14).

Dear friends, let us continue to respond with faith and hope to the universal call to holiness (cf. Lumen Gentium, 11). Our beloved Pope Francis shared this same desire, and for this reason he wrote: “We are all called to be holy by living our lives with love and by bearing witness in everything we do, wherever we find ourselves” (Gaudete et Exsultate, 14). Let us place the gifts we have received at the service of the least among us and those in need, each according to our ability, so that the city of charity may grow stronger, spread and succeed in breaking down the barriers of selfishness.

Finally, I would like to draw attention to the relic of Don Orione’s heart that is kept here, in this community’s chapel — a testament to the deep bond that united this holy Italian priest to the land of Argentina. His incorrupt heart continues to remind us that “charity will save the world,” because “God is love” (1 Jn 4:8) and “love never ends” (1 Cor 13:8). The secret to Don Orione’s life, lived out of love, was revealed by Saint John Paul II, during his homily at the canonization of this tireless apostle: “The heart of this strategy of charity was ‘without limits because it was opened wide by the charity of Christ’ (Saint Luigi Orione, Writings, 102, 32). Passion for Christ was the soul of his bold life, the interior thrust of an altruism without reservations, the always fresh source of an indestructible hope” (Homily, 16 May 2004, 2).

May God bless you all, and may he also pour out abundant blessings upon your families, benefactors and your loved ones. I carry you in my heart. Thank you.