Saturday 1 March 2025, in the majestic setting of the Basilica of San Pietro, the Eucharist was celebrated on the occasion of the Jubilee of the University Polyclinic Foundation A. Gemelli IRCCS. The event, chaired by Se Monsignor Claudio Giuliodori, general ecclesiastical assistant of the Catholic University of the Sacred Heart, was a moment of intense prayer and reflection, in the sign of hope and care for others.
The president of the Gemelli Foundation Daniele Franco and the CEO of Gemelli Isola Daniele Piacentini together with doctors, nurses, health workers, technical and administrative staff and their families of the two hospitals connected to the Catholic University of the Sacred Heart present at the Jubilee of Gemelli. All together they crossed the holy door after the pilgrimage started from Piazza Pia at 10 am led by the spiritual assistant of the Gemelli Don Nunzio Currao
The proximity to the Holy Father
The homily began with a thought aimed at Pope Francis, whose state of health has aroused concern, but who, with great surprise, decided to personally go to the Gemelli Polyclinic to meet the patients and the health personnel. “From all over the world the most precious conditioner reaches the Holy Father incessantly: prayer“, Said Mons. Giuliodori, underlining how hope and faith are fundamental tools in the jubilee journey.
The Jubilee, as underlined by the pontiff in the underworld bubble Spes non confunditis a time of grace in which each person is called to rediscover and revive hope. “We are also today ‘pilgrims of hope’“Said Archbishop, remembering that the passage through the Holy Door represents the encounter with Christ, which welcomes everyone with his merciful embrace.
Recalling the Gospel of the day (Mk 10, 13-16), Mons. GiulioDori emphasized the simplicity and trust of children, indicated by Jesus as a model of access to the Kingdom of God. “The Jubilee is a renewal time that we could call ‘time to return children’“He explained, highlighting the need to free himself from the heaviness of life and rediscover the freshness of the baptismal faith.
In this context, he cited the dialogue between Jesus and Nicodemus: “If one does not arise from water and spirit, he cannot enter the kingdom of God” (Jn 3,4-6). Spiritual life, reiterated the archbishop, is the true source of well -being, capable of giving authentic and lasting happiness.
The first reading, taken from the Syracide book, offered the starting point for a reflection on human dignity and the need to find the right balance between the awareness of one’s fragility and the immense value of life. “The Jubilee is a time of grace to find the ‘right measure’ of our life and the true center of gravity of everything that is Jesus Christ,” said Mons. Giuliodori, citing Blaise Pascal: “The knowledge of God without that of his own misery generates pride. The knowledge of one’s misery without that of God generates despair. The knowledge of Jesus Christ generates the right means»(Thoughtsn. 75).
A song of hope for humanity
By contacting the health workers directly, Mons. Giuliodori underlined the importance of ethical and spiritual formation in the care of patients. “It is not easy to form and educate young people to discern good and evil and to mature a spirit of authentic and generous service“He said, highlighting how the Gemelli Polyclinic, since its foundation, has embodied the union between science and faith, between research and dedication to the most fragile people.
The text of the Syracide recalls that God entrusted men the task of taking care of each other: “Look at each injustice and everyone ordered to take care of the neighbor”. This call to responsibility finds an echo in the words of Pope Francis in the Jubilee bubble: «Signs of hope will be offered to the sick, who are at home or in the hospital. Their sufferings can find relief in the proximity of people who visit them and in the affection they receive “(Sncn. 11).
The archbishop finally expressed a heartfelt thanks to all the health workers of the Gemelli Polyclinic, making the words of the Holy Father his own: «Gratitude reaches all healthcare professionals who, in rarely difficult conditions, exercise their mission with a caring care for sick and more fragile people»(Sncn. 11).
Concluding the homily, he entrusted to the protection of the Sacred Heart of Jesus and to the Madonna the health of the Pope and the Jubilee journey of the Gemelli Polyclinic, inviting everyone to continue in the pilgrimage of hope.
