Pope Francis Delivers Message to the Poor in Namesake’s Hometown
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ANDREAS SOLARO/AFP/Getty Images(ASSISI, Italy) — Thousands gathered in the Italian city of Assisi on Friday as Pope Francis paid a visit to the hometown of the saint whose name he adopted.
Francis is the first pope to take on the name of St. Francis of Assisi, a man who renounced his family’s wealth and devoted his life to the poor. And the pope appears to be following in his footsteps, expressing a desire to return the church to its humble roots and help the poor, sick and needy.
In message to the crowd, he told the Catholic faithful, “You can’t be candy shop-style Christians. …You can’t be a servant of two masters — God and money.”
[ PHOTO SLIDESHOW: Pope Francis Visits Assisi ]
Pope Francis later went on to say that it’s not acceptable to be Christian and ignore children who are hungry and people in slavery.
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