"In hardship and in illness went on Benedict XVI, God mysteriously visits us and, if we abandon ourselves to His will, we may experiment the power of His love. The hospitals and the nursing homes, exactly because they host the people who are suffering, may become favourite places for demonstrating the Christian love nourishing hopes and arousing desires for brotherly solidarity". Therefore, here is the invitation: "Let’s open our hearts to every person, and especially to those in difficulty, because by doing good to the ones who are in need, we get ready to welcome Jesus, who is visiting us through them". Then, the Pope pointed out the mission of "San Giovanni Battista" Hospital, where "everybody’s main attention focuses on welcoming patients with love and qualified professionalism, and everybody takes care to defend their dignity and pledges to improve the quality of the patients’ lives". And if, in centuries, "the Church has been particularly close to those who suffer", "your meritorious Sovereign Military Order of Malta has taken part in this spirit. Ever since its foundation, the Order dedicated itself to the assistance of pilgrims in the Holy Land, through an infirmary/hospice. While its aim was defending Christianity, the Sovereign Order of Malta did its best to cure the ill, especially the poor and the outcast".
