World Day of the Sick

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Each year on February 11, the Catholic Church marks the World Day of the Sick. This is a time to offer prayers for those who suffer from illness and for their caregivers. The Catholic Church marks this annual World Day on the Feast of Our Lady of Lourdes. The theme of this year’s observance is “Take care of him: Compassion as a synodal exercise of healing”, drawn from the Gospel of Luke on the Parable of the Good Samaritan. As the church marks the World Day of the Sick, CHABC encourages everyone to pray for those who suffer from illness and for their caregivers.

Archbishop Miller, CSB celebrated a Mass for World Day of the Sick on Saturday, February 11 at 11 a.m. at Our Lady of Sorrows Parish. 


World Day of the Sick Resources


Illness is part of our human condition. Yet, if illness is experienced in isolation and abandonment, unaccompanied by care and compassion, it can become inhumane.

– Pope Francis

 

 

History

Instituted by Pope Saint John Paul II in 1992, the World Day of the Sick is celebrated annually on the Feast of Our Lady of Lourdes in honour of the Marian apparitions that were said to have been seen in and around Lourdes, France by St. Bernadette. These apparitions began on Feb. 11, 1858 and since then, many pilgrims and visitors have experienced healing at the Sanctuary of Our Lady of Lourdes. In 1991, Pope John Paul II was diagnosed with Parkinson’s disease and it is considered that his own illness was the catalyst for creating World Day of the Sick.

 

World Day of the Sick “is an opportunity to devote special attention to the sick and to those who provide them with assistance and care both in healthcare institutions and within families and communities. We think in particular of those who have suffered, and continue to suffer, the effects of the worldwide coronavirus pandemic. To all, and especially to the poor and the marginalized, I express my spiritual closeness and assure them of the Church’s loving concern.”  – Pope Francis