By CatholicVote | Created at 2025-04-04 22:16:04 | Updated at 2025-04-05 01:57:29
3 hours ago
CV NEWS FEED // The Vatican’s Jubilee of the Sick, the seventh Jubilee Year 2025 event, is set for this weekend, April 5-6, with an estimated 20,000 pilgrims gathering in Rome to honor those who suffer and the caregivers who support them.
Doctors, patients, nurses, pharmacists, and health care personnel are invited to participate in the two-day event, opening them up for the possibility of strengthening their faith, receiving sacramental grace, and finding hope and healing through prayer and community, according to a Vatican News report.
The first day will offer pilgrims the opportunity to visit the Holy Door in St. Peter’s Basilica starting at 8 a.m. Then pilgrims will be able to experience the “Dialogues with the City,” an afternoon of cultural, spiritual, and artistic events offered by organizations, associations, and movements in the piazzas around Rome.
That afternoon, in Piazza di Spagna, an event called “The value of giving and solidarity” will be held by the Italian Ministry of Health. At the event, speeches will be given by Archbishop Rino Fisichella, Minister of Health Orazio Schillaci, Rome’s Mayor Roberto Gualtieri, and Lazio Region President Francesco Rocca.
Additional events include a conference titled “Hospice = Hope” at the Pontifical University of the Holy Cross, hosted by Campus Bio-medico University of Rome, which will focus on the importance of palliative care. Elsewhere, the American Heart Association will offer training on emergency heart resuscitation.
Participants can also attend educational talks on blood donation, addiction awareness, and health education, coordinated by the Vicariate of Rome’s Office for Pastoral Healthcare.
A special conference at the Church of Santa Monica will highlight the life of Blessed Benedetta Bianchi Porro, a medical student who died from a rare disease. Her sister and biographer will speak at the event.
Prayer gatherings will be held at the churches of Santa Maria del Suffragio, Santa Maria Maddalena, and San Gregorio VII. The event at San Gregorio VII, titled “Caring and Being Cared For: Where Does Our Hope Lie?” will feature Monsignor Andrea Manto, episcopal vicar for healthcare in Rome; Sergio Daniotti, president of Banco Farmaceutico; and Giorgio Bordin, president of Medicina e Persona.
The Jubilee of the Sick will conclude April 6 with a Mass in St. Peter’s Square celebrated by Archbishop Fisichella, who will read a homily prepared by Pope Francis.
