JOINT PRESS COMMUNIQUÉ

World Day of the Sick is celebrated annually on 11 February, liturgical memorial of Our Lady of Lourdes. Every three years, the celebration takes a solemn form at a Marian Shrine.

Due to the Jubilee Year 2025, the Holy Father Francis has ordered that the solemn celebration, which should take place this year, be held on 11 February 2026 at the Marian Shrine of the Virgen de Chapi, in Arequipa, Peru.

Archbishop Javier Del Rio Alba of Arequipa has welcomed the Holy Father’s decision with great enthusiasm.

In the Jubilee Year, the Church will celebrate World Day of the Sick in the ordinary form, at diocesan level, on 11 February: the Jubilee of the Sick and the World of Healthcare on 5 and 6 April; and the Jubilee of People with Disabilities on 28 and 29 April.

Vatican, 27 January 2025