Bambino Gesu hospital is like a family, Pope tells young patients

April 11, 2017

Meeting on April 11 with a group of children from the Bambino Gesu hospital, Pope Francis made the remark that the institution is “more than a hospital; this is a family.”

The Pope explained that he was impressed by the way doctors knew every patient’s name, and treated each child as an important person; the child’s disease did not dominate the scene. This is an important form of medical care, he said.

The Holy Father went on to say that sometimes when he visits children in a hospital, he realizes that they are afraid because, seeing him dressed in white, they think that he is a doctor and will give them a painful injection. They quickly calm down, he said, when he caresses and reassures them. This, he said, is “the most important medicine that only a family can give: caresses!”

 

---

For all current news, visit our News home page.

---

 
Further information:

• Meeting of the Pope with a group of children in the “Bambino Gesù” Paediatric Hospital, Rome (Vatican press office)