iStock Editorial/Thinkstock(ROME) — After Pope Francis got a cake and an impromptu tango flash mob for his 78th birthday Wednesday, he made sure Rome’s homeless got a gift, too — sleeping bags emblazoned with the papal coat of arms.
The pontiff donated 400 of the sleeping bags to homeless people in the Italian capital, the Vatican said, continuing his tradition of helping the poor on his birthday.
Members of the pope’s famed Swiss Guard and volunteers handed out hundreds of the sleeping bags Wednesday evening, stopping at railway stations and an area near a cemetery frequented by the homeless.
“This is a gift for you from the pope on the occasion of his birthday,” they said as they passed out the sleeping bags, the Italian news agency ANSA reported.
Pope Francis also received a gift of 800 kilograms of chicken meat for the poor.
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