World Day of the Sick is celebrated every year on February 11, an observation began by Pope John Paul II as a route for devotees to offer prayers for those suffering from ailments and is a significant opportunity for the individuals who serve in Catholic health ministry to consider thinking about the individuals who are sick as well as the individuals who give care to them. The day corresponds with the memorial of Our Lady of Lourdes.

World Day of the Sick History

Pope John Paul II had been diagnosed with Parkinson’s disease as early as 1991, an ailment which was just unveiled later, and, significantly, he decided to make the World Day of the Sick just a single year after his diagnosis. The pope had written a lot on the subject of suffering and believed that it was particularly a salvific and recovering procedure through Christ, as he demonstrated in his apostolic letter Salvifici Doloris.

He picked the commemoration of Our Lady of Lourdes for the date of the recognition because numerous pioneers and guests to Lourdes, France, have been accounted for to have been recuperated at the Marian Sanctuary there through the intervention of the Blessed Virgin. The pope additionally revered the sanctuary of Harissa in Lebanon.

Pope John Paul II started the day in 1992 to urge individuals to appeal to God for the individuals who suffer from the ill effects of the ailment and for their caregivers. The Pope himself had been diagnosed with Parkinson’s a year prior, in 1991, and it is viewed as that his sickness was the impetus for his designation of the day.

World Day of the Sick was first seen on February 11, 1993. February 11 is additionally the Catholic Feast of Our Lady of Lourdes, which a name is given to the Virgin Mary in honor of the apparitions that were said to have been seen in and around Lourdes, France, by a young girl called Bernadette Soubirous. The Church sanctified Bernadette as a saint several years later.

In 2005, the World Day of the Sick had a special significance since the feeble pope later died on April 2 of that year. Numerous individuals had accumulated in St. Dwindle’s Square in Rome to appeal to God for him as he lay dying.

In 2013, Pope Benedict XVI reported his resignation on this day, and he gave his declining health as his reason for retiring.

World Day of the Sick 2020 Theme

The theme of 2020 for World Day of the Sick is Jesus’ words, “Come to me, all you who labour and are burdened, and I will give you rest” (Mt 11:28). The theme meaning to the spiritual way of elegance that is uncovered to the simple and invigorates new to the individuals who are fatigued and tired.

Individuals around the globe set aside the effort to appeal to God for the sick and for the individuals who strive to lighten the sufferings of the sick on this day. Confidence associations mark this day particularly to give the sick with medications, nourishment, and spiritual guidance.