What each and every Christian learns at catechesis and celebrates in the liturgy, must be put into action through concrete service, both within and outside the Church community.
At St George’s, this is mainly done through the service of sacraments which accomodate not only the parish community, amounting to more than 2,500 families, but also many visitors coming from both near and far. The interaction with the thousands of tourists who visit the Basilica each day is also an opportunity for evangelization. However, major attention is offered to those who are most in need: the sick and the elderly, people with physical disabilities or social difficulties, shattered families, and so on.
The parish also has a great sensibility for the missionary dimension of the Church, and a good number of youth are committed to serve the poor in third-world countries. The Diocesan Caritas is supported regularly through collections at mass and other private donations and acts of charity. In addition, the Parish Office regularly helps in a very discreet way families in need. This service, or diakonia, in the Church is understood to be not just a philanthropic act, but the imitation of Christ himself, who “did not come to be served, but to serve” (Mt 20:28).