ROME – Pope Francis was saddened to learn of the death of a German vagrant, Burkhard Scheffler, under the colonnade in St. Peter’s Square, the Vatican said Friday.

 Burkhard was born in Germany in 1961 and was living on the streets of Rome, with the support of the charitable work of the Vatican's Dicastery for the Service of Charity. However, the recent nights of heavy rain and colder temperatures aggravated the fragility of his condition, certainly linked to the difficulties of homelessness. He died Thursday night.

 In a prayer, the pontiff remembered Burkhard and all those who are forced to live without a home, in Rome and the world beyond, and invited the faithful to join him in this remembrance. 

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