St Francis commemorate 30th World Day of the Sick
St Francis Care Centre is an NPO catering for dozens of vulnerable children and adults, most of them suffering from threatening and/or life-limiting conditions
The St Francis Care Centre joined the world in celebrating the 30th World Day of the Sick on February 11 by hosting an informative ceremony.
Pope John Paul II initiated World Day of the Sick, an observation celebrated annually on February 11 as a way for believers to offer prayers for those suffering from illnesses.
Approximately 40 people attended St Francis’s ceremony, including patients, careworkers, managements and St Francis children.
According to St Francis Care Centre manager Tilly Brouwer, Pope John Paul II was the head of the Catholic Church who was diagnosed with Parkinson’s disease as early as 1991.
“He then decided to create a World Day of the Sick only a year after his diagnosis.
“The main objective of the day is to pray for the sick and those who care for them,” she previously explained.
Brouwer also shared Pope Francis’s 30th World Day of the Sick message with the guests.
“We must not forget the uniqueness of each patient, his or her dignity and frailties. Patients are always more important than their diseases. You must listen to the patient, his or her history, anxieties and fears. Even if healing is not possible, care can always be given. It’s always possible to console and make people sense a closeness that is more interested in the person than in his or her pathology.”
Father Graham Bouwer prayed for and blessed all the sick patients and staff members at St Francis and their loved ones.
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