400 South Adams Ave. Rayne, La 70578
337-334-2193
stjoseph1872@diolaf.org

Pope Francis receives Italian missionary physicians

Pope Francis receives Italian missionary physicians

(Vatican Radio) Pope Francis addressed the participants in a major gathering of Doctors with Africa CUAMM – an acronym for the original Italian name of the organization which was the first NGO in the field of healthcare to be officially recognized in Italy: University College for Aspiring Missionary Doctors, founded in 1950 in the Diocese of Padua by Dr. Francesco Canova, a  missionary physician in Jordan, and  Bishop Girolamo Bortignon.

Under the leadership of don Luigi Mazzucato, who headed the organization for more than 50 years, CUAMM gained its current position as the leading Italian organization engaged in Sub-Saharan Africa, operating in 7 African countries (AngolaEthiopiaMozambiqueSierra LeoneSouth SudanTanzaniaUganda) where it delivers medical aid and expertise with its international and local teams.

Click below to hear our report



In remarks to the CUAMM membership on Saturday, Pope Francis said, “In the wake of these great witnesses of missionary and evangelically fruitful closeness, you carry on your work with courage, giving expression to a Church that is not a clinic exclusively for super A-list VIPs,  but rather a ‘field hospital’: a Church with a great heart, close to the many wounded and humiliated of history, to the poorest of the poor.”

The Holy Father concluded, saying, “I assure you of my closeness and my prayer: I bless all of you, your families, and your commitment to the present and the future of the African continent.”

(from Vatican Radio)

Tags: ,