During morning Mass today at the chapel of his residence, the Domus Sanctae Marthae, Pope Francis urged the faithful to visit the homes of priests and nuns and to see these homes as “sanctuaries.” In his homily, the Pope focused on three figures, Moses, John the Baptist and Saint Paul. They indicate, he said, the path of Christian existence: they have never been lacking anxieties, but God has never abandoned them. Speaking about the decline of Saint Paul, the Holy Father described the homes of priests and nuns as “sanctuaries of apostolicity and holiness” and invited the faithful not to forget old priests and nuns, saying that they are “good priests and good nuns, aged, with the weight of loneliness, waiting for the coming of the Lord knocking on the door of their heart”. The Pope said that it could be good for all of us to go to these “beautiful places”. He added that “in these nursing homes, these sisters and these priests wait upon the Lord as Apostle Paul did: a little bit sad, actually, but with a certain peace, with a cheerful face”.