The Archdiocese of Brindisi - Ostuni (Italy) together with the Dicastery for Promoting Integral Human Development (DPIHD) is promoting the project “Your Dignity: from your story and your work”.
This is the Casa di Zaccheo OdV in the Italian city of Mesagne, province of Brindisi, which seeks to “give dignity to people through a tailoring, laundry and ironing workshop where everyone can carry out activities related to their profession, enhancing their skills and helping them regain personal dignity”.
The main beneficiaries of the project belong to a reality of poverty made up of loneliness and social marginalization, they are men and women whose income does not guarantee a serene survival and are forced to depend permanently on charity or public assistance.
In 2022, Pope Francis sent a message to Fr. Pietro De Punzio and all the volunteers of the shelter to thank them for the work they do.
“Receiving this note from the Pope was an emotion,” said Fr. Pietro, “I had written a letter telling the news of this service we do for the poor, and within a few days, we received the reply. Francis has never failed to show his closeness to the volunteers and this comforts us greatly”.
In September 2023, the undersecretary of the DPIHD, Mgr Anthony Ekpo, visited the House of Zacchaeus and assured them of his spiritual closeness and encouraged them to continue the help they give to people in need.