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‘Papa Francesco’: Children’s letters to Pope Francis bring a surge in Italian postal service
Every day, hospital staff collect the letters to ensure they reach Pope Francis in his hospital suite, where he is recovering from double pneumonia.
The Italian postal service has received a surge of letters for Pope Francis following his February 14 hospitalisation, many appearing to be from children, with stamps from around the world and simple addresses like “Pope, Gemelli Hospital, Rome,” yet they all reach him
Postal workers sort the mail into large yellow boxes labeled “Papa Francesco.” Every day, hospital staff collect the letters to ensure they reach the 88-year-old Pope Francis in his 10th-floor hospital suite, where he is recovering from double pneumonia.
Mail for the Vatican first passes through the primary sorting center at Rome's Fiumicino Airport, where it is screened for safety before delivery.
On average, the Vatican receives about 100 kilograms (220 pounds) of mail each day, according to Antonello Chidichimo, director of the Fiumicino sorting center.
Mail for Pope Francis hits 150 kilos
“Recently, we have had peaks of 150 kilos (330 pounds). Naturally, this includes mail arriving from abroad,” he told The Associated Press. “We have also seen that many of these letters have been written by children,” added.
After being cleared at Fiumicino, the mail is sent to the Belsito distribution centre in Rome. In the large sorting area, some letters go through a mechanised process with conveyor belts, optical readers, and noisy machines, while others are manually sorted by workers and placed into pigeonholes.
Addresses vary widely, with some letters marked simply “Gemelli,” while others are correctly addressed to “Casa Santa Marta” in Vatican City, where Pope Francis has lived since his 2013 election instead of the papal residence in the Apostolic Palace.
The envelopes themselves differ just as much, with some carefully written in calligraphy, others having neatly printed address labels, but many bearing the handwriting of very young children.
Andrea Di Tommaso, who oversees the Belsito distribution centre, called the overwhelming volume of mail for Pope Francis a deeply moving experience. “It is not an everyday experience to have to sort through and deliver letters addressed to the Holy Father,” he said.
Expressing his well wishes, he added, “We hope he gets better soon.”
With AP inputs
