Pope gives new clinic to poor and
pilgrims for Christmas
The Pope’s “Ambulatorio-Madre di Misericordia”, or Mother of
Mercy Clinic under the collonade of St. Peter's Square will provide health and
first aid services to the poor, the homeless and pilgrims.
By Robin Gomes
Pope Francis has gifted a new medical clinic as a Christmas
gift for the homeless and pilgrims set up just next to the colonnade of St.
Peter's Square in the Vatican.
Called “Ambulatorio-Madre di Misericordia”, or Mother
of Mercy Clinic, the clinic replaces the San Martino centre that has been
providing first aid to the homeless since February 2016, with a shower and
barber service added more recently.
In a statement, the Office of Papal Charities headed
by the Pope’s Polish Cardinal Konrad Krajewski said that the initiative was
planned and executed by the Governorate of Vatican City State in coordination
with the Department of Health and Hygiene of the Vatican.
Medical visits and tests
Set up in a small space formerly belonging to the Vatican
Post Office, the Ambulatorio-Madre di Misericordia has 3 rooms for medical
examinations, an office, 2 bathrooms and a waiting room.
The rooms are furnished with new equipment and machinery for
full medical examinations and some tests for patients.
The clinic will be open thrice a week – Monday,
Thursday and Saturday. A podiatrist (foot and ankle specialist)
will be available on Monday mornings. The clinic will also provide first
aid to pilgrims during Vatican audiences or events in St. Peter's Square and
the Basilica.
Volunteer service and internship
The entire service is being provided by volunteer doctors,
specialists and healthcare personnel of the Vatican, the Tor Vergata University
of Rome, the Italian “Associazione Medicina Solidale” (Association of
Solidarity Medicine) and the Italian Podiatrists Association.
Ambulatorio-Madre di Misericordia will also provide
internships for the students and postgraduates of the Faculty of Medicine of
Tor Vergata University.
Pope's surprises
On the occasion of the Catholic Church’s World Day of the
Poor, Nov. 18, a makeshift mobile medical centre was set up in St. Peter’s
Square, allowing the poor and needy to come for free checkups and evaluations
from specialists. Pope Francis made a surprise visit to the clinic, as he
has done on similar occasions in the past, taking time to speak to both
patients and volunteer staff there.
Another recent Christmas gesture of Pope Francis has
been a lunch for the poor and homeless of Rome’s seaside town of
Ostia on December 18 offered by Italy’s finance police, Guardia di Finanza, at
Castelporziano near Ostia.
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