Rome, Italy, Jan 5, 2018 / 10:22 am
In yet another "Mercy Friday" outing, Pope Francis this afternoon traveled to the outskirts of Rome to visit sick children receiving care at a campus of the Vatican's Bambino Gesu hospital, offering comfort to patients and their parents.
According to a Jan. 5 Vatican communique, the Pope made the visit around 3 p.m., heading to the Palidoro campus of Bambino Gesu children's hospital, which sits about 20 miles west of Rome.
Francis made his way through different wings of the hospital, greeting the children who are receiving care and their parents, who are helping their children through "these tiresome and painful trials."
Bambino Gesù, colloquially known as the "Pope's hospital," is among most important pediatric hospitals in the world. Founded in 1869 by the Duchess Arabella Salviati, the hospital was donated to Pius XI in 1924, with the aim of giving it a more stable future.