Unitalsi at St Peter's for Jubilee prayer vigil

(ANSA) - Rome, May 4 - Volunteers from the local branch of the National Italian Union for Transporting the Sick to Lourdes and International Shrines (Unitalsi) will on Thursday accompany the disabled and ill to a prayer vigil held by Pope Francis at the Vatican to "dry the tears". The stated aim is to provide support, strength and consolation to those most in need of them. "This special Jubilee even," said Emanuele Trancalini, head of the Rome section of Unitalsi,"is in synch with the Unitalsi spirit, which aims to bring us close to the most fragile and ill, both materially and spiritually." "Yet again," added Alessandro Pinna, Unitalsi chief for the Jubilee, "the pope wanted to provide a tangible sign of mercy through a prayer vigil that is of especial worth to those who - often in solitude and silence - are crushed by the fatigue of living."