St. Bartholomew the Apostle

The Corporal Works of Mercy

• Feed the hungry

  Feeding the hungry supplies necessary nourishment to those who lack it. It is a corporal work because it serves a bodily need, and an act of mercy because charity responds to another’s misery rather than ignoring preventable want.

• Give drink to the thirsty

  Giving drink to the thirsty provides the water or other wholesome refreshment needed for life and health. The work includes direct aid and reasonable support for efforts that make safe water available to people in need.

• Clothe the naked

  Clothing the naked provides suitable clothing and protection to those who lack them. It safeguards bodily health and personal dignity while recognizing that unused or excess goods can answer another person’s genuine necessity.

• Visit the imprisoned

  Visiting the imprisoned brings humane presence and assistance to those deprived of liberty, including people unjustly confined or otherwise held captive. It neither approves wrongdoing nor abandons justice, but refuses to treat any prisoner as beyond dignity, truth, or mercy.

• Shelter the homeless

  Sheltering the homeless provides safe lodging or helps secure it for those without a stable place to live. Traditional language calls this harboring the harborless, extending hospitality and protection to the stranger and displaced person.

• Visit the sick