Press Release – Dicastery for the Service of Charity

Elemosineria Apostolica

The Saint Francis of Assisi Laundry to open in Parma

Vatican City (6 November 2025) – During the Jubilee of Hope, a new initiative will be launched to help the poor, the “Saint Francis of Assisi Laundry”. The structure will be inaugurated today by Cardinal Konrad Krajewski, Almoner of His Holiness, located in Parma, on the premises of Caritas in Borgo San Giuseppe no. 15. It will take its name from the patron saint of Italy, a model of evangelical poverty and universal brotherhood. The Poverello, mentioned in Pope Leo XIV's first Apostolic Exhortation Dilexi te, the “luminous figure” who “will never cease to inspire us”, suggested the new name to the Holy Father.

Supported by Procter & Gamble, the initiative follows in the footsteps of Pope Francis' laundries, now located in various parts of Italy such as Rome – the city where the first one opened in 2017 – Genoa, Turin, Naples, Catania and San Ferdinando (Reggio Calabria). They are places where people in need and without fixed abode can find, free of charge, everything they need for personal hygiene and laundry, as well as having the opportunity to use the shower facilities.

“It is always better at least to do something rather than nothing. Whatever form it may take, almsgiving will touch and soften our hardened hearts. It will not solve the problem of world poverty, yeti t must still be carried out, with intelligence, diligence and social responsibility. For our part, we need to give alms as a way of reaching out and touching the suffering flesh of the poor”. In this passage of Dilexi te, the Cardinal Almoner sees “a new call to action” towards those who are invisible in the eyes of the world.

Bishop Enrico Solmi of Parma remarks: “This inauguration represents a precious piece that completes the mosaic of attention and services provided by Caritas for people in difficulty, in terms of their various basic needs”. An initiative that involves the collaboration of various actors, from the Elemosineria Apostolica to the companies who have contributed to the realization of the project. “Thank you to the people who come to ask for help: their faces are a constant reminder to remain human and to make our coexistence more humane and just”, concludes the Bishop.

The programme will be the following:

11.00 Holy Mass in the Cathedral with the poor and volunteers;

12.00 Inauguration of the solidarity laundry;

13.30 Lunch with the poor and volunteers.