The day Pope Francis welcomed community organizers

“We anxiously entered the room, rather plain, like a well-kept church basement. Twenty-one chairs were set in a circle beneath an image of Our Lady Undoer of Knots. We quietly arranged ourselves, leaving a seat vacant.

“Five minutes later, he walked in by himself, greeting everyone with a handshake and warm smile, and we all sat.

“‘Thank you for inconveniencing yourselves to come to meet with me,” he said.

“And so began our conversation with Pope Francis on Oct. 14, 2022.

“We were an interfaith group of 20 lay leaders, clergy and professional organizers from the West/Southwest Industrial Areas Foundation, a representation of a decades-long tradition of community organizing in the United States, of which Catholic communities and parishes have played a major role. Parish-based organizing began in earnest with the founding of Communities Organized for Public Service in San Antonio 50 years ago. . . . ”

From American Magazine.