Pope John Paul made 200 of Rome's homeless and destitute feel like kings and queens for a day yesterday. For once, their daily bread was different as the Pope hosted them at a lunch to show his solidarity with the poor.
The poor people, who included non-Christians and non-Italians and a few gypsy women with their children, ate with the Pope and his leading aides in the foyer of the Vatican's audience hall.
Most of his guests sat at 11 round tables with a cardinal or archbishop at each one in the foyer, which was transformed into a dining hall.
Eight people sat with the Pope at a rectangular table. One who sat next to him, an old woman, said she slept on the street.
"They are extremely excited. Some of them did not sleep last night," said Archbishop Crezenzio Sepe, secretary of the Vatican's Committee for the 2000 Holy Year.
The poor people, most of whom frequent Rome's charity soup kitchens or scrounge for their next meal, were served by three waiters at each table - young men from Rome's seminaries.
The guests, for whom paper cups and plates usually are a luxury, found their tables set with beige-coloured tablecloths with matching napkins and three glasses at each setting.
"The nicest thing about this is to be able to see the Pope up close," said Mr Antonio Buoniconti (39), originally from Naples, who now lives under the arcades of a famous square in Rome.
A band of 30 musicians and 10 singers played at the lunch, whose setting resembled that of a wedding party in a hotel.
The menu was ravioli with ricotta cheese, veal roast with baked potatoes, fresh mozzarella cheese brought up from southern Italy, fruit, wine, champagne and coffee.
"Come, eat my bread and drink the wine I have prepared for you," the Pope said, at the start of the lunch, quoting from the Old Testament.
In an address after the lunch, the Pope said that for him, it was one of the most important gatherings scheduled for the 2000 Holy Year.
"As I look at you one by one, I think of the many people in Rome, as well as in every part of the world who are going through trying and difficult times," he said.
The poor people, who dressed up as well as they could afford, where chosen by the Sant' Egidio Catholic group, Caritas Italiana and nuns from the order founded by Mother Teresa of Calcutta. The three organisations help feed and shelter the capital's homeless and poor.