The Vatican transforms the building offered by the nuns into a refuge for refugees

The Vatican said Monday it will use a building offered to it by a religious order to house refugees.

The Office of Papal Charities announced on October 12 that the new center in Rome will offer refuge to people arriving in Italy through the humanitarian corridors program.

"The building, which bears the name of Villa Serena, will become a refuge for refugees, in particular for single women, women with minors, families in a state of vulnerability, who arrive in Italy with humanitarian corridors", said the Vatican department that oversees charitable works on behalf of the pope.

The structure, made available by the Servant Sisters of Divine Providence of Catania, can accommodate up to 60 people. The center will be supervised by the Community of Sant'Egidio, which contributed to the launch of the Humanitarian Corridors project in 2015. Over the past five years, the Catholic organization has helped more than 2.600 refugees settle in Italy from Syria, the Horn of Africa and the Greek island of Lesbos.

The Pontifical Office of Charity affirmed that the order is responding to the appeal of Pope Francis in his new encyclical “Brothers all” so that those fleeing wars, persecutions and natural disasters are welcomed with generosity.

The pope took 12 refugees with him to Italy after visiting Lesbos in 2016.

The Vatican charitable office stated that the goal of the new reception center, located in via della Pisana, was "to welcome refugees in the first months after their arrival, and then accompany them on a journey to independent work and accommodation" .