Feb. 15 is International Childhood Cancer Day. On Twitter, Pope Francis entrusted “doctors and all sick children to the Virgin Mary.”
He also asked everyone “to draw near to those who suffer, especially children, and to put the weakest in first place.”
POPE FRANCIS
June 26, 2017
“Periphery is every person confined to the margins of society and relationships, especially when disease infringes upon the usual rhythms of life, as is the case with oncological pathologies.”
Pope Francis is known for his gestures. Imagine being in St. Peter's Basilica and suddenly seeing the pope greet each of these children and teenagers battling cancer. It was in 2016, before he left for Poland for World Youth Day.
It's common to see the pope greet children with special needs during his papal trips. In 2015, during his visit to the oncology department of the Federico Gomez hospital in Mexico City, the pope met with a cancer patient who surprised him with this beautiful rendition of the “Ave Maria.”
Daniel Díaz Vizzi
Translation: CT
