'The greatest poverty is war!' - Pope Francis asks homeless to teach Christians solidarity

'If I had to sleep on the street, what would I do?'

Pope Francis spoke to thousands of homeless people in Rome this weekend.

LOS ANGELES, CA (Catholic Online) - The Pontiff begged for forgiveness from the homeless who are routinely bypassed by "Christians" on the streets.

On Sunday, Pope Francis celebrated a special Mass for the homeless in St. Peter's Square to close the Jubilee Year of Mercy.

According to Vatican Radio, over 6,000 people in Europe have either lived or are currently living on the streets.

François Le Forestier, the organizer of the weekend's events, shared: "For each of these pilgrims, especially for who have been homeless or who are homeless, traveling to Rome was a kind of achievement because they are full of fear, and it's huge for them.

"So they want to respond to the Pope...I'm friends with many, many people who live on the streets, I'm not able to share my house with them, but I share time with them. And slowly, slowly we become friends...Those people do not only need food or health care and housing, they also need, maybe it's the most important, they need friendship, they need to not be alone."

Carlo Santoro, of the Community of Sant'Egidio, agreed: "It's worth pondering. 'What would happen to me if I were in their shoes? If I did not have a house, a bathroom, a bed tonight? If I had to sleep on the street, what would I do?'

"It translates into very concrete things: it means sleeping with one eye open and one eye closed, thinking that others could steal everything from you, that you do not have a bathroom, that you cannot trust anyone."

Pope Francis celebrated the Jubilee for Socially Excluded Persons to embrace the homeless and every person living in poverty or at a disadvantage.

While addressing the crowd, his holiness reflected on humanity and the ignorance of claiming "great people" are somehow better than the least of us.

"Don't stop dreaming," he insisted and mentioned the poor are at the heart of the Gospel.

The poor came to Jesus because they dreamed the Lord would help them.

"Life becomes beautiful," the Pope stated, adding life is dignity.

"The ability to encounter beauty, even in things that involve the most sadness and suffering, is something that only men and women who have dignity can have," he explained.

Those who have difficult lives are able to have compassion for those who suffer even more. The Pontiff thanked everyone for their example of solidarity and asked that they teach the world the meaning of coming together.

Pope Francis then spoke of peace, asking all to work together for the sake of the world.

"The greatest poverty is war!" he exclaimed. "It is the poverty that destroys...We need of peace in the world! We need peace in the Church!"

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