A "beautiful sign" from
the Pope on his name day
The Church today remembers Saint George the martyr, Pope
Francis' name-day. To mark this occasion a number of ventilators will be
delivered to Romania, Spain and Italy, countries particularly affected by the
coronavirus epidemic. The delivery comes after an announcement on 27 March in
response to the needs of several hospitals. Best wishes to the Pope are being
received from all over the world.
By Benedetta Capelli and Adrian Dancă - Vatican City
Giving not receiving: This is the spirit that distinguishes
today's feast day, in which the Church remembers Saint George the Martyr. This
Saint died in 303 for not renouncing the faith during the anti-Christian
persecutions unleashed by the Roman Emperor Diocletian. Tradition remembers him
especially for the episode in which, protected by the Cross, he slayed a dragon
that was devouring people: a symbol of faith that triumphs over evil.
The Pope's name-day
This is also the day in which Pope Francis - Jorge Mario
Bergoglio - celebrates his "name day". The Pontiff himself offered a
gift to mark the occasion: the delivery of ventilators and medical equipment,
masks, and protective glasses for doctors and nurses, and coveralls for
intensive care. A number of hospitals will be benefiting: one is in the city of
Suceava, Romania, which has seen an outbreak of coronavirus, where five latest
generation ventilators are expected; another two will go to a hospital in
Lecce, Italy, and three more to Madrid, Spain.
The embrace of Francis
It is “a beautiful sign that falls on this particular day
when the Holy Father does not receive a gift but gives it to others", said
Cardinal Konrad Krajewski, the Papal Almoner, speaking of the imminent
delivery, which he calls "an embrace of the Pope in a difficult
situation for the whole world". Romania is experiencing a real emergency
in the small town of Suceava, where the ventilators will go. Almost 25%
of the cases in Romania are there. The town, together with several surrounding
municipalities, is in quarantine and is located in the poorest region of the
country and the European Union. In Romania there have more than 500 victims,
and almost 10 thousand people are infected. The ventilators and all the
equipment donated by the Pope will be transported by a flight that will also
carry a team of eleven Romanian doctors and six health workers, sent on 7 April
by the government of Bucharest to a hospital in Lecce to work alongside Italy
in its difficult battle against the coronavirus.
The three ventilators in Madrid will be taken care of by the
Nunciature which, together with Cardinal Carlos Osoro Sierra, Archbishop of the
Spanish capital, will bring them to the hospitals most in need. The Iberian
country is in lockdown until 9 May, the number of those infected exceeds
208,000, the death toll stands at over 21,000 and almost 86,000 have been cured
of the coronavirus. Two ventilators destined for the hospital in Lecce will be
delivered today by Cardinal Krajewski himself. On the journey back to the
Vatican, the Papal Almoner will stop in Naples to receive medicine for the poor
of Rome.
A few days before Easter, two ventilators, along with
medical devices for doctors and nurses, and also Easter eggs arrived directly
from the Vatican at the Cotugno hospital in Naples. Last year, again on the day
of his name day, Pope Francis donated Rosary wreaths made for WYD in Panama to
young people in the archdiocese of Milan, and a 20 kg chocolate egg to the poor
at the Caritas canteen at Termini Station in Rome.
Best wishes to the Pope
At this time the Pope is receiving best wishes for his name
day. In his message for Easter, the President of the Italian Republic Sergio
Mattarella thanked Pope Francis for "the vibrant words of life and
hope" repeatedly addressed by the Pope to the country and expressed in his
best wishes for the Pope's name day.
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