Jubilee Week of the Sick and Disabled
10-12 June 2016
The Jubilee Of Mercy
Pope Francis’s Extraordinary Jubilee of Mercy was held between December 2015 and November 2016, to inspire concrete acts of mercy on a global scale.
Twenty million pilgrims attended, making a pilgrimage to the Holy Doors of Rome’s basilicas, as a sign of their desire to obtain the grace of the Father and demonstrate their commitment to live by mercy.
Jubilee of the Sick and Disabled
One of the central events was the Jubilee of the Sick and Disabled, between the 10 and 12 June 2016. For the duration of this event, the Science for Life Foundation partnered with the Vatican’s Pontifical Council for the New Evangelization to deliver the Health Points initiative.
Health Points Initiative
The initiative gave pilgrims access to free medical care. Physicians offered check-ups and treatment in 7 disciplines at 4 Health Points positioned near the 4 major basilicas of Rome.
This included preventive measures such as tumour screening and vaccinations, and checks for diabetes, hypertension, cardio-circulatory diseases and skin diseases. Over the three days more than 1,800 medical checks were carried out. At least one in twenty of those checked was diagnosed with an urgent health problem and several suspected tumours were identified. These and patients with chronic diseases were referred for hospital follow up.
