During a ceremony organized Saturday morning, Pope Francis delegated his speech due to persistent bronchitis.
The Pope still suffers from bad bronchitis. “I haven’t gotten over it,” the pontiff declared Saturday morning at the Vatican, addressing more than 3,000 staff.
Doctors, nurses, researchers, administrators and patients from the Bambin Gesù pediatric hospital came to listen to his blessing at the Paul VI Auditorium.
Due to his state of health, the Pope therefore asked Archbishop Filippo Ciampanelli to read his speech, which emphasized donation as a fundamental aspect of the history and vocation of the hospital. He encouraged medical staff to continue welcoming children in need from around the world, regardless of their social status, nationality or religion.
The audience was organized on the occasion of the centenary of the donation of the hospital to the Holy See (February 20, 1924) by the Salviati family, who founded it in 1869.