Italian church gets a homeless shelter makeover

From the outside, the Church of the Holy Spirit in Tolentino, a town of about 20,000 people in central Italy, still looks like an ordinary church. 

But inside, it looks more like a homeless shelter, because that’s what it’s become. 

After the latest earthquake to strike central Italy last Sunday, a 6.6-magnitude tremor that left at least 4000 people injured and thousands more homeless, the Tolentino parish decreed that it would open its doors to anyone needing shelter, since the small town in Italy’s Marche region was one of the epicentres of the disaster.

Originally, according to Fr Sergio Fraticelli, the plan was to convert some rooms normally used for catechism lessons into a makeshift shelter, which would be able to accommodate perhaps 10 or 15 people.

In fact, about 220 people showed up, some of whom had seen their homes damaged or destroyed, but many others who were simply afraid to be alone. 

The October 30 quake came on the heels of an August 24 tremor in the same general area that left almost 300 people dead and flattened entire villages.

Looking at the scene inside the Tolentino parish, in which the usual kneelers have been removed to make way for cots, Fr Fraticelli said: “My church has never been so beautiful.”

Fr Fraticelli is a disciple of the famed Italian priest Fr Oreste Benzi, who died in 2007, and who was the founder of the Community Association of John XXIII. 

Fr Benxi spent his life fighting for the poor and the marginalised, and a sainthood cause for him was launched in 2014.

When faced with the sudden influx of people seeking shelter, Fr Fraticelli told Corriere della Sera: “I hadn’t planned anything, but for sure I couldn’t close the doors to those who no longer had a home.”