Information service of the Pontifical Mission Societies since 1927
MA
Okara (Agenzia Fides) - On Sunday 11 February the 26th World Day of the Sick was celebrated all over the world. In Pakistan the event was particularly felt in the two districts of Okara and Sahiwal, diocese of Islamabad, where the Lay Camillian Family (LCF) was involved with a free health mission in Chak 45 in Okara and with home visits for patients in Chak 65 in Sahiwal.
"The LCF carried out medical visits in a remote village where health facilities are not easily accessible to the community. The medical team provided general analysis, tests for hepatitis B and C, blood and blood glucose analysis, offering the necessary medical assistance to those suffering from our harsh climatic temperatures", says to Fides Father Mushtaq Anjum, Camillian missionary.
"In all, 55 patients were visited and medicated. Of these, 15 had hepatitis B and C. 10 other patients were diabetic", continues Fr. Anjum. "The reaction of these people to the awareness of the disease was shocking, because they were immediately worried about how to receive treatment. It was a bad blow for them", said Asia Aslam, president of LCF Pakistan (see Fides 11/4/2012).
The Holy Father, in the message sent for this anniversary, underlined that this maternal vocation of the Church towards the needy and the sick has been concretized, in its two thousand year history, in a very rich series of initiatives in favor of the sick. This story of dedication should not be forgotten. The memory of the long history of service towards the sick is a source of joy for the Christian community and in particular for those who carry out this service in the present.
The LCF in Pakistan continues to be one of the hundreds of hands of St. Camillus, putting into practice the Church's motherly vocation towards needy and sick people through visits and service that includes prayer groups in the homes of the sick.
"Together with the Pope - the missionary concludes - the Camillian Lay Family in Pakistan prays for the Virgin Mary to intercede ... and help the sick people to live their suffering in communion with the Lord Jesus, and to sustain those who take care of them".
(MA/AP) (Agenzia Fides, 12/2/2018)
