It's not every day that one sees more than 300 future doctors and nurses outside the classroom. They paid the pope a special visit, though, to receive a special lesson.
There were two reasons for the encounter. First, it's the 25th anniversary of their university's establishment. Second, to them, a sick person's bed is the meeting point between science and faith. This was the message Pope Francis gave them.
POPE FRANCIS
“I greet the group from the Campus Bio-Medico University of Rome, which began its activities 25 years ago. I urge you all to experience the anniversary as an opportunity for a renewed impulse to be at the service of the sick, to be testaments of joy and the values of faith.”
Andrea, who studies nursing, tells how one of the sick people she knows found God during the most difficult time – battling cancer.
ANDREA
Nursing Student
“He's a man who has travelled around the world and who found faith through illness. His wife came to St. Peter's Square last week with the image of Our Lady Undoer of Knots, to whom she's very devoted. The pope was shocked by the story and called her husband.”
The sick always have a special place in the pope's encounters. During the Holy Father's trips, he usually visits a medical center, where there are scenes like this one with children at a pediatric hospital.
POPE FRANCIS
“Let's figure this out...If I take this rosary, it will stay in a drawer. When I pass away, it will get lost. I don't want that to happen. So, I will bless the rosary and I assign you as its official keeper. You have to take care of it, ok? Every now and then, pray for me?”
On that occasion, Pope Francis suggested doctors and nurses give patients a cheap and effective treatment – “sweet therapy.”
