Pope Francis met on Monday
afternoon with a group of young patients, doctors and nurses
from Rome's 'Bambino Gesù' children's hospital, Vatican radio
reported Tuesday.
The children, aged between 5 and 18, are taking part in a
documentary programme on Italian television exploring the
experiences of young patients and their families at the Catholic
hospital.
The 'Bambino Gesù' hospital, just a stone's throw away from
the Vatican, is the largest pediatric research facility in
Europe. It treats over a million and a half young patients each
year, with children travelling from all over the world to make
use of its specialized services and equipment.
This was the second time the youngsters had come for a papal
audience, which was being filmed for the TV series showing every
Sunday evening on the RAI 3 channel.
In his greetings to the children and staff, including the
hospital director, Dr Mariella Enoc, Pope Francis spoke of the
importance of providing a welcoming family environment. Each
patient, he said, has a name and an individual story, which is
more important that the sickness that he or she has come to
cure.
The hospital, he said, must always be first and foremost a
family which takes care of the needs of each of its members.
Going into hospital, Pope Francis said, can be quite
frightening and he noted that some of the younger children cried
at the audience because they confused a pope, dressed in white,
with a doctor, who is coming to give them an injection. But a
loving caress, he said, calms those fears and doctors are called
to treat patients with their hearts and their love, as well as
with their medical skills.
Finally Pope Francis thanked all the staff for providing "a
witness of humanity" in the way they treat the children in their
care. You are a family, he said, and nothing is more important
than that!
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