Background: World Day of the Sick
February 11, 2019
February 11 is the 27th World Day of the Sick, a commemoration instituted by Pope St. John Paul II. The World Day of the Sick takes place each year on the memorial of Our Lady of Lourdes, and this year’s solemn celebration takes place in Calcutta.
The title of Pope Francis’s message for the day is “You received without payment; give without payment” (Mt. 10:8).
In his letter instituting the commemoration, St. John Paul wrote that the day should be “a special time of prayer and sharing, of offering one’s suffering for the good of the Church and of reminding everyone to see in his sick brother or sister the face of Christ who, by suffering, dying, and rising, achieved the salvation of mankind.”
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Further information:
- Pope Francis: Messages for the World Day of the Sick
- Pope Benedict XVI: Messages for the World Day of the Sick
- Pope St. John Paul II: Messages for the World Day of the Sick
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