Pope Francis bought prosciutto, cheese and local produce from struggling local businesses and (Picture: AP)

A representative of Pope Francis has gone on a shopping spree in quake-hit central Italy, buying prosciutto, cheese and local produce from struggling businesses and donating the bounty to soup kitchens in Rome.

The Vatican said Monsignor Konrad Krajewski’s expedition was a concrete gesture of Francis’s belief that ‘when you can’t earn a living you lose your dignity’.

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The Vatican released photos of Monsignor Krajewski, the Pope’s chief alms-giver, visiting local prosciutto makers and purchasing rounds of cheese and other typical produce. The region is known for its lentils.

Central Italy has been rocked by a series of powerful earthquakes that have driven thousands of people from their homes and devastated the local economy.


The food was handed out at soup kitchens in Rome (Picture: AP)

Italian farm association Coldiretti has estimated damage to the agricultural sector alone of at least 52 million euro (£44 million.)



Monsignor Krajewski visited small-scale farmers and producers in the hard-hit towns of Ascoli Piceno and Camerino, filling up a van with their goods. The Vatican said the products were immediately distributed to the soup kitchens.

For some time now, the Vatican’s tax-free supermarket has stocked produce from the quake zone to help the local economy.

However, the tax-free market has a limited clientele: Only those with coveted Vatican ID cards can shop there.