"With the heart in the name of Francis": the Assisi friars' charity event on 24 May

Solidarity passes through music. And the heart. The solidarity marathon "Con il Cuore, nel nome di Francesco" (With the Heart, in the name of Francis), coordinated by Father Enzo Fortunato in Assisi, is now in its 23rd edition. Songs and testimonies will alternate on stage. The event is promoted by the friars of the Sacro Convento in Assisi to support people in difficulty, poor, fragile, in Italy and abroad. The funds raised during the evening will be donated to 20 projects operating in 11 countries. The appointment is Saturday 24 May, for the benefit concert, hosted by Carlo Conti, broadcast live from the parvis of the upper church of the Basilica of San Francesco, at 9.25 p.m. on Rai1 and in streaming on RaiPlay.

Performing during the evening will be Lucio Corsi, Arisa, Coma_Cose, Rocco Hunt, Marcella Bella, Simone Cristicchi, Amara, Settembre and Gabriele Cirilli. Thus, the desire of the friars of the Sacro Convento di San Francesco in Assisi to be close to the needy in Italy and in the peripheries of the world is renewed: from Brazil to Burundi, from Haiti to Peru, without forgetting the tormented Syria. To participate in the collection, simply send a text message or call from a landline to 45515 from 22 May to 22 June 2025, or donate online via the website www.conilcuore.info.

"We want to be an instrument of dialogue and peace in a world at war," said Father Fortunato, coordinator of the event and President of the Pontifical Committee for World Children's Day. "This year too, with the televised event and with the fundraising campaign 'With the Heart in the Name of Francis', we want to give hope and help to strongly believe that we can succeed in making concrete the desire for peace so much invoked by Pope Francis and today by Pope Leo, who invites us to make the world a better place by walking together and in unity.

"Guided by the teaching of St Francis," underlined Friar Marco Moroni, Custos of the Sacred Convent in Assisi, "once again we friars want to be an instrument of solidarity of so many friends who, with hearts full of affection, decide not to hold back for themselves, to go out to meet so many situations of poverty and hardship, in Italy and around the world. Once again, from the magnificent setting of the Basilica and the Sacred Convent of St Francis, we want to put ourselves at the concrete service of that disarmed and disarming peace invoked by Pope Leo XIV".