After the Mass for the canonisation of Mother Teresa of Calcutta, the Pope invited 1,500 people, mostly the poor and needy in the care of the Missionaries of Charity, the order founded by the new  saint, to a lunch consisting of Neapolitan pizza in the Atrium of the Paul VI Hall.

The 1,500 diners originated from various Italian cities – Milan, Bologna, Florence and Naples – and from all the dormitory houses of the Missionaries of Charity in the capital. They had travelled by bus overnight in order to attend the canonisation ceremony, according to a communiqué from Archbishop Konrad Krajewski, Almoner of His Holiness. During the Holy Mass they were seated in an area of the square close to the Holy Father.

Lunch was served by 250 women religious, members of Mother Teresa’s order, 50 members of the male congregation, and other volunteers, and the pizza was prepared by a Neapolitan pizzeria which brought its staff and three mobile ovens to St. Peter’s Square.