In celebrating the start of Lent, the Bishop of Porto called on the generosity of the Catholic devotees, asking them to help the Church “bring comfort to those who need it most, inside and outside the diocese, taking special care of the refugees’ tragedy”. Reminding them that Lent falls in the Year of Mercy, mgr. Francisco dos Santos called the Christian communities to be in the forefront of solidarity, creative charity, and in the will of sharing, “so that our brothers who suffer from poverty or are forced to leave their native countries may find assistance, help and comfort here”. In his turn, the cardinal-patriarch of Lisbon urged the Catholic communities to put in practice spiritual and corporal works of mercy, which are “open grounds for creative charity, in a city where there are lots of needs and lots of initiatives that can be taken”. Mgr. Manuel Clemente actually revealed he will allocate the proceeds from Lenten self-renunciation to the Diocesan Support to Works of Mercy (Adom), so as to “meet the growing calls for help from the organisations that practice them”. “We are Christ’s answer to the world; we beg Jesus to infuse us with His grace”, concluded the patriarch who pointed out that the 14 works of mercy are a good exercise that can be practiced until Easter.