THE PROVINCE OF ITALY
A day of formation with the title ‘Hospital: House of Mercy. A History that Continues?’ was held at the Marani Centre of the hospital of Borgo Trento, Verona.
THE LAY CAMILLIAN FAMILY– the United States of America
The Camillians of the Delegation of the United States of America solemnised the World Day of the Sick with the celebration of a Holy Mass during which they ministered the sacrament of the anointing of the sick to some of the sick people who were present.
The celebrant, Fr. Naveen Palluruthy, an Indian Camillian religious, exhorted the faithful to experience this celebratory moment as an opportunity to draw on Christ, the source of our salvation. Faced with suffering, a lack of health, our faith in God clearly also runs the risk of becoming weakened or of rebelling. We are called to experience illness as an opportunity, a journey that draws us closer to Jesus who is seen as near to us and as the One who loves man.
CASORIA
The programme of the Santa Maria della Pietà Hospital of Casoria for the twenty-fourth World Day of the Sick was a rich one: amongst the activities of the programme, also the saying of an itinerant rosary in the wards of the hospital with a picture of Our Lady of Lourdes.
BUCCHIANICO
The twenty-fourth World Day of the Sick was also celebrated at the Sanctuary of St. Camillus in Bucchianico. The ceremony, in the presence of sick people and a large number of faithful from Bucchianico and the surrounding areas, was presided over by the Camillian, Fr. Cristoforo Trebsky. The World Day of the Sick began with a reflection on the rosary of St. Camillus that centred around suffering. This was animated by the local Lay Camillian Family. This was followed by the celebration of the Eucharist with the ministering of the sacrament of the anointing of the sick. During the homily, Fr. Cristoforo dwelt upon the message of the Pope for the twenty-fourth World Day of the Sick and then gave a small catechesis on the sacrament of the anointing of the sick, highlighting above all its meaning and the importance that it has during the development of an illness. He stressed that it is the sacrament of the living and it must be asked for when a person is sick and conscious, and not ministered ‘in extremis’, as was once thought. At the end of the ceremony the sick and those present were entrusted to the special protection of the Virgin of Lourdes.
PERU
Within the framework of the celebrations for the twenty-fourth World Day of the Sick, the chaplains of the Hipolito Unanue Ospedale Loayz Hospital organised a formation meeting with a talk at the Casa de Retiro Siloé for the patients and the health-care personnel.
SPAIN
As takes place every year on 11 February, the feast day of Our Lady of Lourdes, the Camillian religious of Spain inaugurated a series of initiatives for sick people that will end on the sixth Sunday of Easter (1 May 2016). Each initiative for the sick constitutes a new opportunity for evangelisation. ‘Any person who experiences profoundly the joy of the Gospel becomes more sensitive to the needs of others’ (EG, n.). ‘The world of health and illness is today, like yesterday, a privileged setting for the new evangelisation: Christ proclaims the Gospel of the Kingdom and entrusts to his disciples the mission of healing’.
The proposals for formation of this year will concentrate on the figure of Mary and highlight the character of her trust in God and her way of accompanying those who are in difficulty. Its slogan will be slogan: ‘Do whatever he tells you’, an invitation that the Pope has addressed to us through the Pontifical Council for Health Care Workers.
In this sense, Pope Francis reminds us in his message for the twenty-fourth World Day of the Sick that faith does not eliminate illness but it does offer a possible key by which to interpret it and thereby discover its deepest meaning. In this area, the concern, the discretion and the enterprise of the initiative of Our Lady are exemplary. Thus Cana becomes an icon of the Church.
TOGO
Our Camillian religious brothers who live and work in Togo also bestowed a suitable solemnity on the feast day of Our Lady of Lourdes and the animation of the twenty-fourth World Day of the Sick
THE PHILIPPINES
The twenty-fourth World Day of the Sick was celebrated at a national level in all the various communities in which Camillians are present.
This year the celebration was hosted at the diocese of San Pablo, Laguna, with the coordination of the Bishops’ Commission in Health Care which was represented by the Camillian Fr. Rodolfo Vicente Cancino Jr. MI as Under-Secretary of the Bishops’ Conference of the Philippines. The patients of the University of the Perpetuo Soccorso Hospital System, workers of the church and of the commission on health care, representatives of parishes, priests, sisters, and students all took part.
The programme was divided into two parts. During the first part the Camillian life and the Camillian charism were discussed in a paper by Fr. Rodel Enriquez. Fr. Rodolfo Cancino Jr. then dwelt upon a number of aspects of pastoral care in health. During the second part the sacrament of the anointing of the sick was ministered to a number of patients of the hospital.
The day ended with a celebration of the Eucharist presided over by Msgr. Buenaventura M. Famadico D.D., the Bishop of the diocese of San Pablo, Laguna, together with a number of priests of the diocese. Lunch was offered to everyone by the Order of Malta.
ROME – THE CHURCH OF ST MARY MAGDALENE
The Camillian community of the Church of St. Mary Magdalene had the pleasure of hosting the seventeen Missionaries of Mercy of Taiwan, who yesterday received their mandate from Pope Francis.
With them was our Fr. Didonè who accompanied the priests during their visit to the generalate house and to the St. Camillus Museum.
SANTA MARIA IN AQUIRO
Following tradition, our parish of Santa Maria in Aquiro, whose patron saint is Our Lady of Lourdes, invited us to celebrate the Eucharist and the anointing of the sick for some of the parishioners.
This year we Camillians were represented by Fr. Eugenio Sapori at this event.
