The faithful of Munyonyo Parish will join the rest of the catholic faithful in the world in marking the 10th World Day of the Poor on Sunday, November 15, 2026, under the theme “The Lord is the refuge of the poor” (Ps 14:6).
In his message for this year’s commemoration, the Holy Father, Pope Leo XIV, called for an end to corruption and injustice against the poor.
“Sadly, we see that even today there is widespread social injustice arising from arrogant corruption, which is as deplorable as it is discriminatory. The loss of a sense of the transcendent in daily life is no longer so much a theoretical denial of God’s existence; rather, it is evident in the failure to take his goodness and mercy into account in the pursuit of personal and social justice.”
He added that “the poor are the first to suffer the consequences, and it is no coincidence that their numbers are growing in many societies.”
The Holy Father invited the faithful to look to the example of Saint Francis of Assisi. When Francis arrived in Rome as a pilgrim to the tomb of the Apostle Peter, he was moved with compassion for the beggars he found there. To understand and share in their suffering, he exchanged his own clothes for the ragged garments of one of them, sat down to beg, and spent the entire day among the poor with a joyful spirit.
Pope Leo asked all the faithful to bear witness that it is still possible today to experience this same joy by putting ourselves in the shoes of the poor and listening to them, rather than merely speaking about them.
“I am confident that this 10th World Day of the Poor will serve as a significant step toward rediscovering the faces of so many brothers and sisters who seek refuge in God and long to feel at home in our communities,” the Holy Father said.
Here at Munyonyo, the Good Samaritan Ministry has prepared a series of activities for Good Samaritan Week, beginning Monday, November 9. These include visiting needy persons within the parish and sharing with them the Word of God and items for their daily use.
We are all invited to support this cause through acts of kindness.
The Ministry currently supports more than 200 needy individuals in our parish community through the Feed the Hungry Project. These include children on long-term treatment for epilepsy and sickle cell disease, elderly dependents, persons living with HIV/AIDS (including children), persons living with disabilities, abandoned women, single mothers and young widows.
In addition, through the Franciscan Sponsorship Fund, the Ministry supports the education of more than 150 children from these families.
For more information about the Ministry, please contact Maryanne Mubiru on 0772 358630 or 0705 089830.
In the Archdiocese of Kampala, the week will be marked by visits to prisons and homes of the needy. There is also a drive to provide 2,000 mattresses for the most vulnerable people in the archdiocese.
The World Day of the Poor is an occasion for the Church to urge all the faithful to recognise the dignity of people living in poverty, to draw close to them, and to make care for the poor a concrete expression of our faith.
