On February 11th, the Church celebrates the 33rd World Day of the Sick, a special day to remember those who suffer from illness and those who care for them with love and dedication. This year, in the context of the Jubilee Year 2025, Pope Francis gives us a message full of hope: 🕊️ “Hope does not disappoint” (Romans 5:5) and makes us strong in tribulation.
Three key points from Pope Francis’ message
In his message, the Holy Father invites us to pause and reflect on the presence of God who remains close to those who suffer, particularly under three aspects that characterize it: encounter, gift and sharing.
1️⃣ The encounter: God is close to those who suffer
Pain makes us more aware of our fragility, but it also opens us up to the experience of God. Jesus teaches us that illness can be an opportunity to encounter His love and His strength.
In the work of the Sisters Hospitallers, each patient is welcomed as Christ himself, offering comprehensive and hospitable care to those suffering from mental illness. Each member of the Hospitaller Family, in their mission, manifests the love that God has for all people, especially the most vulnerable. We want to be a message of hope and a testimony that the world can be transformed from the spirit of the beatitudes.
2️⃣ The gift: Hope as a gift from God
In times of suffering, we can trust in God’s faithfulness. Our hope is not just an emotion, but a certainty based on the resurrection of Christ.
At Sisters Hospitallers we believe that the gift of Jesus’ gratuitous love “transforms us into ‘pilgrims of hope’, leaving our ‘comfort zones’ to enter the space of grace that opens us up to listening and encounter. The world, with so many faces of pain and exclusion, asks us to allow ourselves to be moved and comforted with our hearts.” At the XXII General Chapter, we together assumed the mission to be a prophecy of hope in our world, especially for the most vulnerable people in the field of psychological suffering, with preference for those suffering from mental illness.
3️⃣ Sharing: Being ‘angels of hope’ for others
Hospitals, residences and care homes are places where a true exchange of love and faith takes place. The sick, their carers and the Christian communities form a network of mutual support. The Pope reminds us that “it is important to discover the beauty and the grandeur of these encounters with grace and to learn to inscribe them on the soul so as not to forget them”.
In each of the 88 centers of the Sisters Hospitallers, spaces of welcome are created every day, where love and hospitality alleviate suffering. “Sisters, collaborators, lay hospitallers and volunteers, each from their specific vision and vocation, we are one body in the mission and we evangelize through humanizing service and witness in the practice of hospitaller values. We build and spread Hospitality to the world by strengthening ties, building trust, caring for people and caring for each other.”
Mary, Health of the Sick, pray for us
The Pope concludes his message by entrusting the sick to Mary, with the traditional prayer:
“We fly to thy protection, O Holy Mother of God; despise not our petitions in our necessities, but deliver us from all dangers.”
🌿 Today more than ever, we are called to be living signs of hope. We at Sisters Hospitallers renew our commitment to be prophetic signs of hope for suffering humanity. Will you join us?
