教皇77歲生日 與流浪者共進早餐作爲慶祝活動

12月17日， 教皇弗朗西斯迎來了自己的77歲生日。慶祝活動從早上開始——教皇在梵蒂岡邀請三名羅馬流浪漢（其中一人還攜帶一隻狗）共進早餐，一同做彌撒，流浪漢贈送給教皇一束向日葵。

這幾位流浪漢經常遊蕩於羅馬附近，就在梵蒂岡城牆外。負責分發救濟品的教廷人員邀請他們去梵蒂岡城的賓館，參加教皇每日舉行的彌撒。

羅馬教廷表示，教皇弗朗西斯也邀請了住所的工作人員，營造出一種家庭聚餐的氛圍，教皇還在佈道中談到了在場的每一個人。

梵蒂岡的孩子們送上了蛋糕，教皇吹滅了蠟燭。來自阿根廷的聖洛倫索足球隊帶來了他們在錦標賽的獎盃複製品，聖洛倫索隊是教皇最喜歡的球隊。

教皇也收到了一份意外的禮物，那就是被《提倡者》這本面向同性戀、雙性戀和變性羣體的雜誌評選爲“年度人物”。教皇曾就同性戀話題表示“我算老幾？沒資格評判”，被雜誌引用。上週，教皇弗朗西斯也被美國的《時代》雜誌評選爲“年度人物”。

Three homeless men, one of them carrying his dog, helped Pope Francis celebrate his 77th birthday Tuesday, joining him for Mass and breakfast and presenting him with a bouquet of sunflowers.

The men live on the street in the Rome neighborhood just outside the Vatican’s walls and were invited by the Holy See official in charge of alms-giving to attend the Mass, which Francis celebrates daily at the hotel where he lives on Vatican City grounds.

The Vatican said Francis also invited his household help to join him in a “family-like” atmosphere, and he spoke of them one by one during his homily.

Francis, who is making history as one of the more informal and down-to-earth Popes, struck a modest note as he reflected on people’s roles in the world. “Let the Lord write our history,” he said in his homily.

After Mass, all ate breakfast with Francis at the hotel dining room.

The Vatican, which initially said four homeless people joined Francis, later clarified that three men had taken part, all from Eastern Europe: the Czech Republic, Poland and Slovakia. The Vatican newspaper L’Osservatore Romano reported that they were asked: “Would you like to come to Pope Francis’ birthday party?” and that the surprise guests brought a bouquet of sunflowers to offer the pope.

Francis had already blown out the candles on his birthday cake, presented to him on Saturday by children at the Vatican. But another present awaits him: A delegation from his favorite Argentine soccer team, San Lorenzo, will give him a replica of their championship trophy.

Vatican officials said no fixed time was set for the papal meeting with officials and at least one player from the team, which clinched the Argentine championship on Sunday. The delegation flew from Argentina on Monday night on a private plane, to arrive in Rome on Tuesday.

“Arriving on such as special day, like the 77th birthday of the pope, this meeting seems made for God,” said the team’s vice president Marcelo Tinelli, shortly before departure.

The pope also got an unexpected birthday gift on Tuesday, named Person of the Year by The Advocate, a US magazine for the gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender communities. The magazine cited the pope’s “Who am I to judge” comment about gays. Francis was also named Person of the Year by Time magazine last week.