Pope Francis
Vatican City - The family being housed in the Vatican is to remain anonymous until Italian authorities have ruled on their asylum request.
Published: Fri 18 Sep 2015, 4:21 PM
Updated: Fri 18 Sep 2015, 6:26 PM
Pope Francis is putting up a Syrian refugee family from Damascus in a Vatican apartment, aides revealed on Friday.
The family is the first of two that the Catholic leader has promised to find space for as part of a broader church effort to help shape Europe's response to an ongoing migration crisis partly caused by the conflict in Syria.
The family arrived in Italy on September 6, the day the pope called on every Catholic parish across Europe to find space for at least one family of refugees.
Read: FC Barcelona joins forces with Red Cross to help refugees
The family being housed in the Vatican is to remain anonymous until Italian authorities have ruled on their asylum request.
The processing of their application could however take months, possibly years, unless they are made a special case.
Read: Monthly allowance, food, shelter and education: What awaits migrants in Europe
In his call for the church to take a lead on the migration issue, Francis said "every parish, every religious community, every monastery, every sanctuary in Europe," should take part.
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