PRESS RELEASE
Jubilee of Volunteering in Rome with the Misericordie, amid faith, service and free screening open to everyone
Over five thousand volunteers of the Misericordie d’Italia will participate in the Jubilee of Volunteering, scheduled to take place in Rome on 8 and 9 March, a special event in the context of the Jubilee of Hope, dedicated to celebrating the service and daily commitment of those who choose to take care of others. A moment that takes on an even deeper meaning, as the thoughts and prayers of all brothers and sisters turn to the Holy Father and the moment he is going through. To reinforce this message, on the afternoon of Saturday 8 March, a group of volunteers from the Misericordie, led by the National Chancellor, Bishop Franco Agostinelli, will pray in front of the Gemelli Hospital to recite the Rosary and make the Movement's closeness to the Holy Father felt.
During the Jubilee of Volunteering, the National Confederation of the Misericordie d'Italia will play a key role with two days full of initiatives addressed both to the brothers and sisters of the Movement and to citizens, including moments of prayer, training and free healthcare.
On Saturday 8 March, in the Church of San Salvatore in Lauro, the volunteers will take part in an intense spiritual moment with confessions and Holy Mass presided over by Bishop Franco Agostinelli, to be followed by the procession to the Holy Door of Saint Peter’s Basilica. At the same time, from 9.30 to 17.00, the Auditorium of Santo Spirito in Sassia will host the workshop “Volunteers, a cherished heritage”, dedicated to managers, trainers and young people in the Civil Service, to explore the value and prospects of volunteering today.
Great attention will also be paid to education and service to the community. From 11.00 to 18.00, in the central Piazza San Salvatore in Lauro, the Misericordie will be present with a large area dedicated to Mission Health, a preventative healthcare initiative, free and open to all, without the need to book. Thanks to the collaboration of IDI Instituto Dermopatico dell’Immacolata, the Villa Benedetta Group, Audio Experience Hearing Centres, the Italian Society of Emergency Psychology, A.S.Pro.C. and Psychologists for Peoples, volunteer doctors and qualified healthcare personnel will offer consultations and checks in various fields, such as cardiology, dermatology with dermatoscopy, orthopaedics, paediatrics, diabetology, otorhinolaryngology and audiology. Diagnostic services such as ultrasounds and X-rays will also be available, as well as blood pressure measurement services, haemogasanalysis, saturimetry and psychological support, together with a health and social orientation desk, with a focus on people in marginalized situations.
Also on Saturday 8 March, the square will host a space dedicated to explaining who the Misericordie are and what they do. Their institutional works, founding values, projects for the young and opportunities offered by the civil service will be illustrated. Practical first aid and resuscitation exercises will be carried out throughout the day, with the active involvement of the population. There will also be moments planned for children, who will be able to climb aboard an ambulance and try their hand at first aid through play.
The day of Sunday 9 March will be dedicated to communal participation in the Jubilee Mass in Saint Peter's Square, preceded by the collective entrance of the volunteers and concluded by the traditional Passage through the Holy Door, to spiritually seal the journey of the Jubilee.
‘With the Jubilee of Volunteering we celebrate the heart of our mission, which for almost eight centuries has called us to serve those in need”, said Domenico Giani, President of the Misericordie d'Italia. “In a time marked by fragility and uncertainty, we want to be a concrete sign of hope and proximity, renewing, through this meeting, the strength of a witness that is nourished every day by hard-working charity and lived faith. It is a moment to rediscover the profound meaning of our being volunteers and, together, to look to the future with renewed responsibility towards our communities and those who suffer”.
‘The journey is already underway. In our many locations scattered throughout Italy, there have been meetings, debates, moments of discussion and prayer to enter into the merits of the Jubilee reality and experience it as a precious opportunity for personal growth and as a Movement”, explains Bishop Franco Agostinelli, rector of the Misericordie d'Italia. “Now our itinerary has an appointment that concerns and involves us directly: the Jubilee of Volunteering. On Saturday and Sunday, 8 and 9 March, we will meet again. It should not be a moment of escape, an alternative to the daily routine, but an opportunity to revisit our identity, who we are, where we come from, what our commitment is in today’s society. And we want to do this by bringing our resources and capacities into play, but above all in the light of the Word that generated us, that guides us and gives us strength to go further without stopping. So let us welcome one another and shake hands tightly, determined to be, with God's help, a prophecy of peace, fraternity and service at a difficult time in the history of the world, which urgently needs this specific witness”.
A valuable opportunity to reaffirm, in the heart of Christianity, the values that have always inspired the work of the Misericordie: hospitality, care, closeness and daily commitment by the side of the last among us.
Information on the National Confederation of the Misericordie d’Italia
Founded in Florence in 1244, the Misericordie represent the oldest voluntary movement in Italy and, after almost eight centuries of history, they are still an irreplaceable point of reference in relief, solidarity and assistance to the most vulnerable. The Confederation brings together over 700 confraternities throughout the country, with more than 670,000 members, 100,000 of whom are actively engaged in works of charity and support for those most in need. The Misericordie offer health, civil defence and social protection services, and are also present in international solidarity missions, particularly in Ukraine and the Holy Land.
Press Office: National Confederation of the Misericordie d’Italia
