CNA Newsroom, 27 January, 2025 / 1:00 pm (ACI Africa).
Pope Francis emphasized how suffering can become “an occasion for a transformative encounter” with God in a new message released Monday, describing three distinct ways the divine draws close to those experiencing illness and hardship.
In his message for the 2025 World Day of the Sick — signed Jan. 14 at the Archbasilica of St. John Lateran — the pontiff pointed to presence, gift, and sharing as profound paths of providential companionship during times of trial.
He also addressed all those “who are ill or who care for the suffering,” telling them: “Your journey together is a sign for everyone: ‘a hymn to human dignity, a song of hope.’”
The 88-year-old pope wrote from personal experience, having faced several health challenges in recent years, including knee problems requiring a wheelchair, respiratory infections, and, most recently, a fall resulting in a forearm contusion.
“In times of illness, we sense our human frailty on the physical, psychological, and spiritual levels,” the pope wrote. “Yet we also experience the closeness and compassion of God, who, in Jesus, shared in our human suffering.”