The Pope reminds people with disabilities that their lives “are a blessing”

Pope Leo XIV began his first full day in Argentina this Monday at the Little Cottolengo Don Orione in Claypole, a home that cares for more than 400 people with disabilities in the southern suburbs of Buenos Aires. Addressing residents, staff, religious, families, and volunteers, the Pope affirmed the value of those who live there: “Their lives are not a burden on society; they are a blessing.”.

Upon his arrival, he was greeted by the Governor of the Province of Buenos Aires, Axel Kicillof, who presented him with a mate gourd inscribed with “Leo XIV,” while those present sang “Pope Leo, this is your home.” Accompanied by the Bishop of Lomas de Zamora, Jorge Lugones, and the director of the Cottolengo, Brother Jorge Silanes, the Pope prayed in the chapel before the relic of the incorrupt heart of Saint Luigi Orione, founder of the Little Work of Divine Providence, to which the center belongs, in one of the most moving moments of the visit. There, the Argentine singer Abel Pintos performed his song “La llave” (The Key). Lugones emphasized that the Pope had chosen to begin his pastoral activity in the country “in this geographical and existential periphery,” in the second most populous diocese in Argentina, a community “wounded by situations of poverty, fragility, and exclusion.”.

Marta and Norma

Two residents shared their stories. Marta Torres was born with a disability and abandoned by her mother at a very young age. For years, she moved from place to place without finding a suitable one, until she arrived at Cottolengo. There, she explained, she discovered that someone could truly see her “without focusing solely on my disability.” Marta has written a book about her life and presented it to the Pope: “For many years, others told my story for me. Today, I want to be the one to tell it.” Visibly moved, the Pope thanked her for the gesture and gave her a rosary.

Norma Donato has lived at the center for 44 years. She lost her mother when she was two years old, and after developing rheumatoid arthritis, her stepmother pressured the authorities to have her admitted. For a long time, she carried the anger of feeling discarded, until at Cottolengo, surrounded by a new family, she learned to forgive. “At Cottolengo, I was never a burden. I was welcomed, cared for, and loved just as I was,” she recounted.

Three “cities of charity”

Saint Luigi Orione wanted this place to be known as the “city of charity,” and the Pope used this expression to frame his discourse around three cities where Jesus lived. In Bethlehem, he explained, one can feel the love for life and the dignity of every person welcomed as a gift from God. Nazareth is the place where Jesus learned to be part of a family and a community, a place “that does not exclude people, but rather incorporates them into social life,” as Martha demonstrates through her life and her book. Bethany, finally, is the home of friendship with Martha, Mary, and Lazarus, where “no one is marginalized or abandoned” and which, as Norma recounted, makes people feel “welcomed, cared for, and loved just as they are.”.

Leo XIV contrasted these values with societies “often driven solely by the pursuit of economic success or the cult of physical appearance.” People with disabilities, he said, help us not to forget “the foundation of the dignity of every human being and what is truly important in life.” He added: “The progress of a nation is also measured by the welcome it extends to all people with disabilities and special needs.”.

New generation of saints

The Pope also expressed a wish for the country: that Argentina be capable of carrying out great works of charity and that thousands of young people join as volunteers in the history of charity written by the faith of its people: “May a new generation of saints of charity be forged in Argentina! And why can’t all of you be saints?”

Before departing, Leo XIV presented the center with a mosaic of Our Lady of Bzommar, a revered figure in the Armenian Catholic Church, as a sign of his closeness to people with disabilities and their caregivers. From Claypole, the Pope traveled to the Monument to the Spanish, where he will celebrate Mass this afternoon.