14/04/2026
Pope Leo XIV has landed in Africa as part of a major tour of the continent starting today (Monday 13 April).🙏 Vatican News
On the papal flight, journalists presented him with a Mary’s Meals T‑shirt and mug. They also shared with him that our school feeding programmes now serve more than 3 million children every school day.
Already familiar with our mission, the Pope smiled warmly when he heard how much our school feeding programme has grown over the years.
Food insecurity, child hunger, and malnutrition continue to be persistent and critical global challenges, particularly in areas where we work. Globally, one in four children are living in severe child food poverty in early childhood, amounting to 181 million children under five years of age. Additionally, 78 million children of primary school age (about 6 to 11 years) are out of school.
Our school feeding programmes provide a lifeline and social safety net for children and their families. With only 27% of schoolchildren in low-income countries benefitting from school meals, the need for effective and reliable nutrition in places of education is acute.
A donation of HKD195 to Mary’s Meals provides a child with daily school meals for an entire school year.💙
Visit www.marysmeals.hk to donate.
(Last year, Mary’s Meals Youth Ambassadors were invited to represent Mary’s Meals on stage at the Youth Jubilee, an event presided over by Pope Leo XIV.)
