VATICAN CITY (RNS) — Last week, Pope Francis supported a small transgender community near Rome, some of whose members have been struggling financially due to the coronavirus pandemic. In the small town of Torvaianica, the Rev. Andrea Conocchia has turned his parish into a haven for about 20 transgender women, most of them from Latin America and between the ages of 30 and 50.

It all started two weeks ago, when a trans woman asked Conocchia for help near the entrance to his parish of the Blessed Virgin of the Immaculate. He gifted her food and basic supplies from the care packages of the Catholic charity Caritas. The day after, the woman returned with a friend, and then more and more people, even from nearby towns, came to Conocchia for help.

“What was important to me was the open door of the parish church, and the possibility of welcoming, listening and accepting the person that I had truly and concretely in front of me,” Conocchia told Religion News Service in a phone interview on Thursday (April 30).

Many of the women are sex workers and have been left with no income to pay rent or bills since Italy enacted a national quarantine in early March to prevent the spread of the coronavirus pandemic. Some of the women are HIV positive or have sexually transmitted diseases, the priest said. With a national ban on public Masses, and therefore church offerings, Conocchia was unable to offer the women enough financial support so he suggested they send a message to Pope Francis asking for help. Read more via RNS