This morning, before the General Audience, in the study of the Paul VI Hall, the Holy Father Francis received in audience a delegation from the Global Solidarity Fund.

After handing out a copy of the discourse prepared for the event, the Pope addressed an impromptu greeting to the attendees.

The following is the text prepared for the circumstance:

Prepared address of the Holy Father

Dear brother, Cardinal Tomasi,
Dear friends,

I am pleased to meet with you once again and to see the progress that you are making.

Your name, Global Solidarity Fund, is centred on a key word: solidarity, a core value of the social doctrine of the Church. Yet in order to make this word a reality, it needs to be accompanied by closeness and compassion for others, for people who are marginalized and for the faces of the poor and migrants.

The composition of the group that represents the Global Solidarity Fund here today is revealing: you belong to very different sectors of society, yet you work together to create a more inclusive economy, giving rise to integration and employment for migrants in a spirit of listening and encounter. This is a courageous path!

I thank you for the gifts you brought me from the migrants who are participating in your programmes in Colombia and Ethiopia. I bless each of you and your work. I encourage you to move forward in your commitment to support migrants and the most vulnerable by sharing your talents. And please remember to pray for me.