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Pope to Spanish NGO: You discover Christ in the face of every person
Meeting with members of the Marsodeto Federation—a Spanish NGO that supports people with intellectual disabilities and cerebral palsy—Pope Leo XIV reminds the group that seeing Christ in “the lives of the weakest and most vulnerable” enables us “to grow as a human and Christian society.”
By Kielce Gussie
In the Vatican on the morning of August 24, Pope Leo XIV met with members of the Marsodeto Federation—an organization that supports people with intellectual disabilities and cerebral palsy in Toledo, Spain.
Founded in 1980, the group travelled to Rome on a pilgrimage to mark 45 years of the institution’s mission.
The Pope acknowledged that the Federation’s work is “undoubtedly an arduous task, involving much hidden work that no one sees and that only God can reward.”
However, he stressed that it is a mission that is “deeply gratifying” to find, “in the face of each person, Jesus Christ Himself.”
The Pope entrusted the work of the Marsodeto Federation to the protection of Mary (@VATICAN MEDIA)
Through their work, he suggested that members of the Marsodeto Federation are witnesses to the Gospel message: “Truly I tell you, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers and sisters of mine, you did for me” (Mt 25:40).
Recognizing the gaze of Christ who challenges us, in the lives of the most vulnerable, he said “helps us to grow as a human and Christian society.”
No one left without support
Solidarity, the defense of human dignity, and complete inclusion are the values that mark the Federation’s approach to working with people with intellectual disabilities and cerebral palsy.
Over 40 years ago, Fr. Marcelino Casas Puente founded the Marsodeto Federation, beginning a dream that has since become a reality: “that no family with a person with an intellectual disability should ever be left without support.”
The Federation serves more than 2,600 people. This, Pope Leo highlighted, puts into action something he mentioned during his visit to Spain in June this year: “the love of Christ urges us towards our brothers and sisters (cf. 2 Cor 5:14), and the charity and care with which we respond to his promptings are the proof of our faith.”
Concluding his message to the members of the Marsodeto Federation, the Pope entrusted them to the protection of Mary, that she will accompany the group in their ongoing work.
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