Pope Francis on December 11 appointed Bangladeshi Cardinal Patrick D’Rozario as his special envoy to the celebration of Catholic Church’s 27th World Day of the Sick to be held in Kolkata, during February 9-11, 2019.
The World Day of the Sick is a feast day of the Roman Catholic Church which was instituted on 13 May 1992 by Pope John Paul II. Beginning on 11 February 1993, it is celebrated every year on the commemoration of Our Lady of Lourdes, for all believers seeks to be “a special time of prayer and sharing, of offering one’s suffering”.
When Pope John Paul II was diagnosed with Parkinson’s disease as early as 1991, an illness which was only disclosed later, he decided to create a World Day of the Sick only one year after his diagnosis. The Pope had written a great deal on the topic of suffering and believed that it was very much a salvific and redeeming process through Christ, as he indicated in his apostolic letter Salvifici Doloris.
The feast of Lourdes was chosen because many pilgrims and visitors to Lourdes have reportedly been healed by intercessions of the Blessed Virgin. The pontiff was also fond of the sanctuary of Harissa in Lebanon. In 2005, the World Day of the Sick had a special significance since it was the year John Paul died from a sepsis. Many people had gathered around him as he lay dying.
Incidentally, In 2013, Pope Benedict XVI announced his resignation during this feast day, and he cited his declining health as his reason for retiring.
People around the world take the time to pray for the sick and for those who work very hard to alleviate the sufferings of the sick on this day. Faith organisations mark this day especially to provide the sick with medicines, food, and spiritual guidance.
Cardinal Patrick D’Rozario, born on 1 October 1943, in Padrishibpur, Barisal (now part of Bangladesh) is the Catholic Archbishop of the Dhaka, the highest-ranked official of the Roman Catholic Church in Bangladesh.
He is a member of the Congregation of Holy Cross and was ordained a priest in 1972. In 1990, D’Rozario became Bishop of Rajshahi, and in 1995, Bishop of Chittagong.
In November 2010, he was appointed Coadjutor Archbishop of Dhaka by Pope Benedict XVI. In October 2011, he succeeded Archbishop Paulinus Costa as Archbishop of Dhaka.
He is President of the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of Bangladesh, founded in 1971, the purpose of which is to facilitate common policy and action in matters that affect or are liable to affect the interest of the Catholic Church in Bangladesh. It also serves the country at large. D’Rozario assisted at the Synod on the Family.
Pope Francis raised him to the rank of cardinal at a consistory held on 19 November 2016. He was given the rank of Cardinal-Priest and assigned the titular church of Nostra Signora del Santissimo Sacramento e Santi Martiri Canadesi. Pope Francis made him a member of the Dicastery for Promoting Integral Human Development on 23 December 2017.
Cardinal D’Rozario became the first cardinal of Bangladesh when Pope Francis elevated him to the cardinal’s rank at the consistory of November 19, 2016. The 75-year old Archbishop of Dhaka also became the first cardinal from among the Bengali-speaking people on either side of divided Bengal, inhabiting Bangladesh and India’s West Bengal state.
The 75-year old Archbishop of Dhaka also became the first cardinal from among the world’s Bengali-speaking people who mostly inhabit Bangladesh and India’s West Bengal state.
Kolkata is associated with St. Teresa of Calcutta, the Albanian nun who came to Kolkata in 1929 as a missionary with the Sisters of Loreto from Ireland. Later in 1950, she founded her own Missionaries of Charity order for the poor and the abandoned.
Mother Teresa earned national and international honours for her works of mercy, including the Nobel Peace Prize in 1979. She died on September 5, 1997, at the age of 87 and was declared a saint by Pope Francis on September 4, 2016, the eve of her 29th death anniversary.
In honour of Mother Teresa, the United Nations in 2012 instituted the International Day of Charity on September 5 each year, recognizing the role of charity in alleviating humanitarian crises and human suffering.