World Day of the Sick: a privileged moment of prayer
(Vatican Radio) The themes and focus of the upcoming World Day of the Sick were presented
on Tuesday at a press conference here at the Vatican. The World Day of the Sick is
marked each year on February 11th: the Feast of Our Lady of Lourdes. This
year sees the 21st recurrence of the Day, which was established by Blessed
John Paul II.
Speaking during a press conference at the Press Office of the
Holy See on Tuesday, the current President of the Pontifical Council for Health Pastoral
Care, Archbishop Zygmunt Zimowski, recalled that Blessed John Paul II desired the
World Day of the Sick to be, “a privileged time of prayer, of sharing, of offering
one’s sufferings for the good of the Church, and a call for all to recognize in the
features of their suffering brothers and sisters the Holy Face of Christ, who, by
suffering, dying and rising has brought about the salvation of mankind.” Pope Benedict
XVI’s Message for the World Day of the Sick was released earlier this month. It focuses
on the figure of the Good Samaritan, and on the Christian duty to care for those who
are ill and infirm. Listen: