Rosary beads, Easter chocolate eggs and a little book telling the story of Jesus’ birth were among the gifts Pope Francis gave to sick children while he was in hospital. The Pope also baptized a baby who was only a few weeks old.
(Vatican News Network) “What’s his name?” “Miguel Angel”. “Miguel Angel, I baptize you in the name of the Father, of the Son and of the Holy Spirit”. The day before Pope Francis left the Gemelli Hospital, he visited children in the hospital’s Pediatric Oncology Unit, which is located across from the Pope’s inpatient ward. The pope was admitted to the hospital on Wednesday with bronchitis. He also visited sick children there during his hospitalization for intestinal surgery in 2021.
The children’s hospital is a place of pain but also joy due to the colors presented, the images posted and the toys of all kinds. The Pope’s visit lasted about half an hour and he distributed gifts and comfort to the sick children, talked and joked with the children’s mothers, and greeted the doctors and nurses.
Next, the Pope baptized Miguel Angel, who was only a few weeks old. Little Miguel, who was swaddled in the cradle, was awakened by the holy water blessed by the Pope, and burst into tears. “That’s his answer!” quipped a female nurse. The pope tried to calm him by stroking his nose and lips with his fingers, before blessing the child on the forehead as his mother watched. The Pope said to the young mother: “The child is already a Christian. When you go to the parish, tell him that the Pope has baptized him.”
The Pope also blessed other children struggling with the disease, as well as the parents who cared for them every day during their treatment. Bruni, director of the Holy See press office, told them that the Pope gave them gifts including Rosary beads, Easter chocolate eggs, and the booklet “Jesus was born in Bethlehem, Judea” (Nacque Gesù a Betlemme di Giudea), which tells children the story of the birth of Jesus according to the Gospels of Matthew and Luke.
After this visit, the pope returned to his tenth-floor ward, which John Paul II called “the third Vatican”. Pope Francis was admitted to the ward on March 29 after undergoing a scheduled examination. He was also in this ward in 2021 after bowel surgery for diverticulitis of the colon.
Link URL:www.vaticannews.cn
