It would be difficult to imagine then that amongst these pillars of mammon a tiny revolution is taking place in a little Catholic church dwarfed by these fast-rising monoliths. St Mary Moorfields, in Eldon Street, close to Moorgate and Liverpool Street stations whence thousands of commuters emerge every weekday morning, houses a monthly prayer group that hopes to bring God’s healing hands to the world’s biggest problem: poverty.

A small group pray in the blind faith that God will act mightily to bring an end to the monstrous unfairness that while some have too much to eat many are dying because they have too little. Poverty exists not because there is not enough food or resources but because they are not distributed equally. There is an old saying that ‘enough is as good as a feast’ but unfortunately many do not agree and want to pile up far more than they need.

Prayer For The Poor (PFP) has been running for ten years. Its founder, Mal Grosch, explains his vision in forming the prayer group: ‘I think what happened is I was praying in a guild church, churches that were originally run by the Guild of Goldsmiths, and I came across Mary Moorfields Catholic Church, and I was just very impressed by it.’

A small group pray in the blind faith that God will act mightily to bring an end to the monstrous unfairness that while some have too much to eat many are dying because they have too little. He noticed that individuals were giving up their lunch hour to pray in silence. ‘I thought there’s a power here that maybe could be harnessed. I was thinking that the biggest problem that mankind has is poverty. And I just thought maybe God wants to get rid of poverty. I mean, all the great movements start with prayer…I’m just right at the very beginning of it, but I think God can do great things.’

The post-midday Mass atmosphere with its wafting incense captivated him and made St Mary’s seem to be the right place. The priest at the time, Fr David Barnes, was accommodating and suggested silent prayer rather than spoken petitionary prayer.

Ten years on, is poverty still present in the world? Sadly yes, but the group has seen small miracles that are reported in its monthly newsletter. The group prays for a number of individuals who do not have an organized infrastructure of prayer partners as well as some Christian organizations, but only those that value prayer. If they place strategies and management plans before prayer, PFP does not get involved.

Contemporary Catholic social teaching has really looked into the root causes of the global financial crisis and how it has created extremes in poverty that seem difficult to overcome. Teaching on this subject in his most recent encyclical Caritas in Veritate Pope Benedict XVI states: ‘The conviction that the economy must be autonomous, that it must be shielded from “influences” of a moral character, has led man to abuse the economic process in a thoroughly destructive way. In the long term, these convictions have led to economic, social and political systems that trample upon personal and social freedom, and are therefore unable to deliver the justice that they promise’ (para. 34).

It is not right to judge those who are involved in finance. Industry needs investment and there will always be specialization as in the case of business financing. However, banks, particularly the retail banks, have a very poor name at present. We look to banks for wisdom in foreseeing global trends and when they do not see them we are disappointed.

In their recently published document Choosing The Common Good, in which they present some of the key themes of Catholic social teaching in the light of recent developments, the Bishops of England and Wales draw this conclusion: ‘The crisis in the financial sector was in essence a collapse of trust in economic institutions. The causes are many and complex, but at root have an inescapable moral dimension: not only the willingness of so many institutions to lend and deal recklessly in the pursuit of short-term profit, but also the eager desire of so many to borrow beyond their means. Now we must recognise that market forces are not sovereign. Nor will new and sweeping regulation of itself solve these deep-seated problems. The financial sector is crucially important but it has to operate at the service of society not itself’ (pp. 10-11).

In seeking to point the way forward, Pope Benedict is making a call for a return to a confidence and fidelity to truth as a common factor in the moral lives of all people: ‘Development, social well-being, the search for a satisfactory solution to the grave socio-economic problems besetting humanity, all need this truth. What they need even more is that this truth should be loved and demonstrated. Without truth, without trust and love for what is true, there is no social conscience or responsibility, and social action ends up serving private interests and the logic of power’ (Caritas in Veritate 4).

The post-midday Mass atmosphere with its wafting incense captivated him and made St Mary’s seem to be the right placePFP likes to hang on to the fact that slavery was once considered an insurmountable problem but the vision of one man, William Wilberforce, a man obedient to God, came to fruition, and the abolitionist movement started – in London. God has a habit of doing the unlikely and it may just be that he has chosen a church in one of the most expensive pieces of real estate in the UK to start the undoing of poverty. Sadly, the group has seen the little shops and cafes that it used opposite St Mary’s disappear. Now only the big chains can afford the rents in Eldon Street.

Faith, as our Lord says, can move mountains and, it is hoped, will also remove global poverty. The cosmic element to this call to pray is emphasized by Mal, who says, ‘First of all we pray for poverty globally, and we also acknowledge that the root cause of poverty [is] the devil. Christ talked about the devil being the ruler of the world; the devil is a murderer. I do believe the root of poverty is a spiritual warfare; there are two forces: one who wants the best for man, and one who wants the worst. I think God can only act when we are submissive to him and prayer is total submission. I don’t think that prayer is something we do, I think it’s something that happens within us. If you read Romans, it’s almost a conversation, with the three persons of the Trinity, so when people start to talk about prayer, it’s about allowing God to do what he wants to do amongst us.’

Prayer For The Poor meets at St Mary Moorfields on the last Friday in the month for half an hour starting at 1.45 pm. The group can be emailed at This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it .