Submitted Content

On Sunday, January 8., the Double I: Italia and International Civitan Club worked alongside the Community of Sant’Egidio, helping to serve lunch on the occasion of the annual commemoration in memory of Modesta Valenti, a 71-year-old woman experiencing homelessness who lived near Termini Station in Rome.

On 31 January 1983, Modesta fell ill, but the ambulance crew refused to assist her because, given the conditions in which she lived, she was dirty and had lice.

After hours of hardship and loneliness, waiting for someone to help her, Modesta died. For this reason, every year the Community of Sant’Egidio remembers her—together with other victims—during a liturgy dedicated to all the “Friends on the Street” who, like her, have lost their lives.

The aim of the Civitan Club’s initiative was to offer a tangible sign of closeness and support to people experiencing homelessness, by sharing a moment of fellowship and hospitality.

This experience warmed our hearts, but what touched us even more was what the Community gave us: a way of seeing that recognises dignity, worth, and humanity in every person—especially those living on the margins.