Rome, March 1 – Pope Leo XIV made a pastoral visit to the Quarticciolo district of Rome today, appealing to state authorities to intensify their efforts in tackling the area’s pressing issues of crime, drug dealing, and urban blight. The Pontiff’s visit to the parish of Ascensione di Nostro Signore Gesù Cristo was met with both enthusiasm and poignant calls for help from the local community.
Pope’s Arrival and Appeal to Youth
Upon his arrival, Pope Leo XIV was greeted by a warm reception from residents, who displayed banners reading ‘Benvenuto Santo Padre’ (Welcome Holy Father) and ‘Daje, sei un grande!’ (Go on, you’re great!). The Pope, holding a child, expressed his gratitude to the crowd, stating, ‘Thank you for coming.’ His itinerary included a mass at 5:00 PM and an encounter with the local community.
Addressing the youth, the Pope delivered a strong message: ‘Let us reject what is harmful to health. Reject drugs, say yes to health: you young people choose, let’s eliminate these problems from the streets.’ This appeal came before a meeting with mothers of drug addicts and prisoners, highlighting the severe impact of these issues on families in Quarticciolo.
Parish as a Catalyst for State Action
Pope Leo XIV emphasized the role of the parish in advocating for its community. ‘It is important,’ he continued, ‘that the voice of the parish ‘awakens’ the responses of the authorities, the Police, the State, who often could do more to help overcome the problems that exist here. So, this voice coming from a community of faithful in a parish can be raised, and we can seek to make important changes for the good of all.’ He further urged, ‘Let’s work together. Let’s try to live the faith together and always be this testimony.’
International Concerns and a Call for Peace
The Pontiff also touched upon the global situation, expressing deep concern. ‘I am very worried about what is happening in the world, especially yesterday and today, and we don’t know for how many days. War again. We must be heralds of peace. We must reject the temptation of evil. Violence is never the right choice,’ he stated, alluding to ongoing international conflicts.
Quarticciolo: A Challenging Roman Suburb
The parish of Quarticciolo, established in 1954, serves approximately 10,000 faithful. Most residents live in the so-called ‘lotti,’ concrete blocks lacking aesthetic embellishments, mostly without balconies, built between the late 1930s and early 1940s as residential settlements for working-class families. Father Daniele Canali, the parish priest, explained to Vatican media that ‘99% of the buildings in the neighbourhood are social housing and now belong to Ater [Territorial Housing Companies].’ He added that ‘90% of the families living here live from their work. Then there are many pensioners and elderly people, and finally, families who, let’s say, live by expedients, on the margins of legality.’
Parish Priest Details Deterioration and Crime
Father Canali painted a grim picture of the district’s decline. ‘In recent years,’ he recounted, ‘I have been a direct witness to the progressive decay of this neighbourhood, for a long time abandoned by institutions. In 2014, when I arrived as assistant parish priest, the first signs of what later, with the Covid-19 pandemic, became macroscopic signs of decline were already visible: shops that closed, families that left the neighbourhood and were not replaced by younger ones. Even the Azzurra 7 swimming pool, which brought new people, ‘from outside,’ to the neighbourhood, has been closed and abandoned for years.’
He further highlighted the pervasive issues: ‘Prostitution – he continues – is rampant along Viale Palmiro Togliatti, while within the neighbourhood, a very active network of local drug dealers operates. Some people from the parish have been attacked, and I myself have been attacked twice. We have to keep the parish doors tightly closed for fear of theft, and it has happened that our processions along the neighbourhood streets have been targeted with spitting.’
Just last Wednesday, February 25, the Carabinieri arrested eleven individuals in the neighbourhood in a pincer operation that blocked possible escape routes, reported a twelfth, and seized over 320 doses of narcotics and approximately 2,500 euros in cash, believed to be proceeds from sales. This underscores the ongoing struggle with crime in Quarticciolo.
Historical Papal Visits to Quarticciolo
Pope Leo XIV is the third Pontiff to visit the parish of Ascensione di Nostro Signore Gesù Cristo. His predecessors include Pope John XXIII, who visited on March 3, 1963, and Saint John Paul II, who was welcomed there on February 3, 1980. Quarticciolo is one of five communities in his diocese that the Pope is visiting in preparation for Easter, particularly significant given its designation as one of Rome’s ‘red zones’ requiring special monitoring due to its challenging social conditions.
