Ispiration and beneficiaries

Saint Pio of Pietrelcina was and still is considered a champion of the poor. During his lifetime, Saint Pio was able to establish the hospital “Home for the Relief of Suffering” in Southern Italy. This hospital has provided healthcare to everyone regardless of his or her ability to pay. At Christmastime, Saint Pio opened the doors of this institution to the poor to celebrate Christmas in the company of friars, doctors, staff, and patients while being provided with a hot meal, or by deploying loyal friars to deliver essential foods (olive oil, pasta, and bread) to the poorest in the surrounding area.

Typical American families spend an average of $152 on Christmas dinner, easily making this meal the most expensive of all holiday meals. The metropolitan cities selected for this initiative have a combined population of more than twenty million people, with thousands living on incomes far below the city’s average personal income. Their average poverty rate is approximately 18%, 8% higher than that of the rest of the United States, according to 2019 census data. With incomes that often fall far short of mere subsistence, impoverished citizens of our city often lack transportation that would enable them to visit the nearest food pantry to receive vital free groceries. So, providing needed assistance to these families during Christmas is an important part of this initiative.