Successful test for the volunteers

David Murgia

For them the day of 24 December began at dawn. They were already in Saint Peter’s Square in the early hours of the morning, with their caps and their blue jackets, which bear the words “I was a foreigner and you welcomed me”. Employees and students, professionals and traders, aged between 18 and 70, ready to collaborate in the reception of the Jubilee. This is the identikit of the volunteers of the Jubilee, who after receiving an adequate training, thanks to specific courses and internships, different in nature according to the area they have been recruited for, are actively inserted in the organisational activities. For them, Christmas Eve was an opportunity to test the general workings of voluntary efforts. On Christmas Eve, 1,200 were present, 700 women and 500 men, of which 200 foreigners from Belgium, Colombia, France, Germany, India, Latvia, Lithuania, Peru, the United States, the Czech Republic and the Slovak Republic. They were there to welcome the pilgrims, at all the meeting points, on Via della Conciliazione and in Saint Peter’s Square indicating the access routes, the times of the celebration, supplying useful liturgical and logistic information and handing out the Pilgrim’s Journal. Everything worked well. Everything took place in an orderly and tranquil manner. In addition to the assistance provided to the elderly, the sick and the handicapped, the volunteers distributed information material and set up infrastructures to regulate successfully the flow of pilgrims to and from the Basilica. Around thirty radio operator volunteers were connected via a mobile structure with the Situation Room to assist the Red Cross and the health points managed by the Carabinieri. Everything was under control, and there were just a number of calls due to the cold weather conditions. They were the first to arrive and the last to leave the Square. In fact after the end of the ceremony and the departure of the pilgrims, the volunteers tidied up and took away the chairs used by the pilgrims. “I’m pleased”, commented Luigi, of the province of Reggio Calabria, “that I took part in an event like this one. Even though I wasn’t supposed to work tonight, I came all the same because I wanted to take part in ensuring that everything worked out well”. The volunteers have a schedule that will also allow them to enjoy some time as tourists. But many, on the night of the 24, chose to dedicate themselves to the opening of the Holy Door. For the security forces, the test was also a positive one. The men on the ground were 2,000, along with 300 members of the municipal police.