Vatican City, Nov 28, 2007 / 10:27 am
This coming Sunday, December 2, Pope Benedict will visit the Roman hospital of St. John the Baptist, which is run by the Knights of Malta and specializes in the treatment and rehabilitation of people suffering from neurological disorders.
The Pope will celebrate Mass for the patients and their families before going on to visit the reanimation unit, one of the few Italian healthcare structures specifically dedicated to providing specialized therapy for patients recovering from comas.
The communications office of the Order of Malta relates that this event has a twofold historical significance: firstly that it is "the first visit by a Pope to this hospital," and secondly because the hospital itself has a long-standing link to the Holy Father, "being built on the site of the ancient 'Castello della Magliana,' used by Pontiffs for centuries as their summer residence."