Credit: Rome Reports
The Bambino Gesu, hospital for children, has drawn the most papal visits from Pope Francis on three occasions in 2013, 2018 and 2022.
The president of the hospital Tiziano Onesti described one of the most moving moments from Francis’ visits when the children from Ukraine arrived.
“His last visit was very emotional. I indirectly witnessed it because I was not the president of the Bambino Gesu at the time, when the Ukrainian children came to us in 2022.
“During that visit, the pope expressed his deep concern for a very vulnerable part of society. The Bambino Gesu is always committed to life. So we hosted all these children and there were many of them and it was really important,’ he said.
In 1958, Pope John XXIII visited it for the first time, establishing the papal tradition of going to see the sick children a few days before Christmas.
His successor, Pope Paul VI, visited in 1968. He made a large donation to the Bambino Gesu.
Pope St John Paul II also visited the hospital on two occasions: in 1979 and 1982. The images that stand out are the times he greeted and blessed the children in the hospital.
Years later, in 2005, Pope Benedict XVI went to the Bambino Gesu.
More than the “pope’s hospital” the Bambino Gesu is the place where medical quality and Christian charity meet in a special way.
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