Faces to the future
On the occasion of its 40th anniversary, Centro Astalli, the Jesuit Refugee Service in Italy, is promoting the exhibition “Faces of the Future. These twenty portraits of refugees who were welcomed by Centro Astalli were painted by Francesco Malavolta in the streets of Rome.” This exhibition, initially on display at the church of Sant’Andrea al Quirinale and then at the Church of Sant’Ignazio where it will remain until 8 January, was inaugurated by Cardinal Vicar Angelo De Donatis, Cardinal Michael Czerny, undersecretary of the Migrants and Refugees Section of the Holy See, the president of the Lazio Region Nicola Zingaretti, and the mayor of Rome Roberto Gualtieri.
“Our intention is not to celebrate the past but to commit ourselves from today to build the future together with refugees. That is why we are here, to renew our commitment to build welcoming and supportive communities where migrants are perceived as a wealth, as a gift” President Fr. Camillo Ripamonti, highlights. “We have been experiencing this every day for 40 years in Rome. Workers and volunteers are credible witnesses of the beauty of the encounter with refugees. We are grateful to Pope Francis who wanted to write the welcoming speech of the exhibition.”
“Thinking of you refugees,” writes the Holy Father, “brings to mind the people of Israel who for 40 years walked through the desert before entering the Promised Land. Freed from slavery, it took them a generation to establish themselves as a people.” Thus, many among you had to flee from living conditions comparable to those of slavery.” During the journey “all too often you come up against a human desert”, while “nationalism and populism resurface at different levels, and the building of walls and the return of migrants to unsafe places seem to be the only solution governments are capable of to manage human mobility”. Despite everything, there are many “signs of hope.” And refugees are ” the sign and the face of this hope”, trusting that “a culture of encounter is truly achieved”.
