By Verghese V Joseph –
Kolkata (Calcutta), India: Way back in May, 1993, the then Pope John Paul II instituted February 11th as the XXVII World Day of the Sick. The day also happens to the Feast Day of Our Lady of Lourdes. And since then, a different city is chosen each year to host the World Day of the Sick. This year the choice has fallen on Kolkata (Calcutta) in India from February 9-12, 2019 – and Pope Francis has highlighted the figure of Saint Teresa of Calcutta as a model of charity who made God’s love for the poor and sick visible.
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This is only the second time a place in India has been chosen; the first was Vailankanni, Tamil Nadua in 2002.
For this occasion, the pope names a special envoy who represents him in the day’s celebrations. For the Kolkata event, Pope Francis on December 11, 2018 appointed Bangladeshi Cardinal Patrick D’Rozario as his special envoy.
The solemn celebration in India, among others, wishes to underscore the dimension of gratuity, especially towards the poorest and excluded, including sick people, in light of the experience of St. Mother Theresa of Calcutta. Kolkata is associated with St. Teresa of Calcutta, the Albanian nun who came to the city 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.
The theme of this year’s event is: “Cure the sick, raise the dead, cleanse lepers, drive out demons. Without cost you have received; without cost you are to give.” (Mt 10, 8)
“The day is also the anniversary of his 1984 Apostolic Letter Salvificidoloris on the Christian meaning of human suffering. Kolkata was chosen to celebrate the XXVII World Day of the Sick (WDS) to honour mainly “in light of the experience of St Teresa of Calcutta,” said Peter Cardinal K. A. Turkson, Prefect of the Dicastery organising the World Day.
With Archbishop Thomas D’Souza of Calcutta, releasing a prayer to be said at all churches and homes in the run up to the February 2019 event, the countdown to the XXVII World Day of the Sick has begun. You can download the WDS Prayer Card.
The conference sessions will dwell on “Theological Foundations of Healing Ministry,” “New Charter for Healthcare Workers, Ministry to the Marginalised Sick: New Frontiers and Models,” followed by solemn mass and anointing.
His Eminence, Cardinal Peter T A Turkson will reflect on Perfect: Pope Francis’ Theology on Accompaniment and the Call to Witness the Mercy of God.
Archbishop Prakash Mallavarapu will speak on the Response of the Church to this Call in Today’s Context.
On day 3, there will be a special mass and anointing of the sick which will be presided by over by His Eminence Patrick Cardinal D’Rozario, Special Envoy of the Holy Father.
In his message for the 27th World Day of the Sick, Pope Francis urges believers to promote a culture of generosity, noting that the joy of generous giving is a barometer of the health of a Christian. Pope Francis says that those who care for the sick and give of themselves with generosity and straightforward love – like St. Mother Teresa of Calcutta – are amongst the Church’s most credible evangelizers.
Pope Francis said, “On the XXVII World Day of the Sick, the Church – as a Mother to all her children, especially the infirm – reminds us that generous gestures like that of the Good Samaritan are the most credible means of evangelization. Caring for the sick requires professionalism, tenderness, straightforward and simple gestures freely given, like a caress that makes others feel loved.
“Those who care for the sick and give of themselves with generosity and straightforward love – like St. Mother Teresa of Calcutta – are amongst the Church’s most credible evangelizers.”
Pope Francis noted that just as life is a gift from God, and cannot be reduced to a personal possession or private property, “caring for the sick requires professionalism, tenderness, straightforward and simple gestures freely given, like a caress that makes others feel loved”.
“Amid today’s culture of waste and indifference”, he said, “gift” is the category best suited to challenging today’s individualism and social fragmentation, while at the same time promoting new relationships and means of cooperation between peoples and cultures. “Gift” he explained is much more than simply giving presents: it involves the giving of oneself and entails the desire to build a relationship. “Gift is a reflection of God’s love, which culminates in the Incarnation of the Son and the outpouring of the Holy Spirit”, the Holy Father added.