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Pope Francis repeated his appreciation for healthcare workers as he led the midday Angelus from a 10th floor window of the Gemelli hospital, where he has been a patient for a week, following a scheduled colon surgery on July 4. His recuperation is going as planned, according to daily reports from the Vatican press office, and today he looked well, with only some bandages still on his right hand indicating his continued hospital stay.
"I thank you all: I have felt your closeness and the support of your prayers. Thank you from the bottom of my heart!" he said to the faithful in the patio below, and those tuned in through media.
The Holy Father credits a nurse with saving his life when he was a young man with a serious lung infection. He repeatedly has expressed his admiration for nurses and health care workers and he said so again today, as many of the Gemelli staff were outside to see their VIP patient.
The Pope noted how the day's Gospel reading references the sacrament of the Anointing of the Sick, as it explains how the disciples “anointed with oil many that were sick and healed them” (Mk 6:13).
But, he said, "this 'oil' is also listening, the closeness, the care, the tenderness of those who take care of the sick person: It is like a caress that makes you feel better, soothes your pain and cheers you up."
Pope Francis also shared that his time in the hospital has made him again experience "how important good health care is, accessible to all, as it is in Italy and in other countries."
With this, the Pope was summarizing a position of the Church's social doctrine, as often reiterated by various group, for example here, the bishops of the United States:
In this regard, the Pope warned, profit cannot be the motivating factor, especially for Church health care institutions. He said:
Finally, Pope Francis spoke of some young pediatric patients who accompanied him on the balcony. Gemeilli's pediatric oncology ward is not far from the Holy Father's own hospital rooms.
"Let us pray for all the sick," he said. "Here there are some friends, sick children…. Why do children suffer? Why children suffer is a question that touches the heart. Accompany them with prayer and pray for all those who are sick, especially for those in the most difficult conditions: May no one be left alone, may everyone receive the anointing of listening, closeness, tenderness and care. Let us ask this through the intercession of Mary, our Mother, Health of the Sick."
The suffering of children is an issue that the Pope has addressed various times. In 2015, he discussed it at length, acknowledging that it is a difficult mystery:
See more of his reflection below:
