VATICAN CITY (ITALPRESS) – Pope Francis received in a private audience a large representation of the community of AIL – Italian Association against Leukemia, Lymphoma and Myeloma that, on the occasion of the 55th anniversary of its founding, came from every part of Italy.There were more than 3.000 volunteers from the 83 AIL territorial sections who, led by National President Giuseppe Toro, together with patients, family members, doctors, health care workers, psychologists, researchers, and supporters crowded, festive and excited, the Paul VI Hall to meet the Holy Father.The Holy Father’s wait was cheered by religious songs performed by the Gruppo Corale Musica Insieme, directed by Maestro Fabio Marino and accompanied by organist Giovanni Campello. Thousands of small lights lit up in the Paul VI Hall the moment Pope Francis made his entrance.The Papal Audience was a moment of great spiritual growth, brotherhood and hope, and an opportunity to symbolically retrace the steps that have led AIL to be, in its 55-year-long journey, a point of reference for blood cancer patients, their families and for all of Italian Hematology.The symbol of the meeting is the firefly that, silently, spreads its light in the darkness and sows hope and love in hearts.The message chosen by AIL for the meeting, “Together we illuminate the future,” enshrines the great commitment in the socio-health field that the Italian Association against Leukemia, Lymphoma and Myeloma has been tirelessly pursuing for 55 years.The meeting with Pope Francis gives us the opportunity to reiterate the importance of a network of solidarity, which unites patients, doctors, researchers and volunteers. AIL believes that the community can be a beacon of hope, which not only relieves pain, but restores dignity and strength to those on the difficult path of illness. “I am happy to meet you on the occasion of the 55th birthday of your Association,” said Pope Francis. “Thank you for your visit and especially for what you do. In addition to funding research for the treatment and development of the Hematology Centers, you offer hospitality to patients and families, home care and proximity to so many people, thanks to the work of thousands of volunteers throughout the territory. You are close, thus compassionate and witnesses of solidarity and closeness; something very important in this world marked more and more by individualism. Today I would like to deliver three words to you starting from the message you have chosen for this meeting: together we illuminate the future. Illuminate: illness plunges individuals and families into the darkness of pain and anguish,” the Pontiff stressed. “At the social level, suffering is perceived as a defeat to be hidden and eliminated. Sick people are discarded, suffering is marginalized, which hinders projects and causes fear; instead, we need to put the sick person with his or her story back at the center, to find meaning in pain and answers to the many whys. Because when all seems lost, someone is needed to bring light to rekindle hope, with friendship, closeness and listening. The second word is Giving: the people who bring light are the givers, every time you give the culture of waste is weakened and consumerism is defeated by this virtuous logic. The third word is Square: your association is in the squares, it does not remain closed in its own little garden but knows how to be a tangible sign and a visible but never intrusive presence for patients. With your commitment you manifest a willingness to be with people to share pain, a gift you give to society; a visible gift not for yourselves but for people in need. You are the building block of the hope of cure and the most up-to-date therapies. Today it is St. John of the Cross who remembered that at the evening of life we will be examined on love. Go forth with dedication and competence. Thank you for the love you give. “It is with deep emotion and gratitude that we are welcomed today by the Holy Father, bringing the voices and faces of hematology patients, but also that of millions of families who, with courage and hope, who live with a disease that, at times, can still seem insurmountable. – said Giuseppe Toro, AIL National President -Pope Francis has repeatedly reminded us that suffering is never just individual but involves everyone; it questions us and asks us to be witnesses of a love that becomes proximity. For 55 years, our association has been tirelessly supporting those who are battling a blood cancer, promoting and contributing to the development of scientific research so that new therapies and cures can restore hope for a better future to those who suffer. Every step we take in research, every person we can help, every smile we see on a face that was about to lose hope, is a sign that the light of solidarity never stops shining. Together we illuminate the future. “Pope Francis has always taught us that ‘proximity’ is at the heart of what we do. His ability to break down barriers and get close to those who suffer continues to move and inspire us. – said Fr. Marco Euganeo Brusutti, President of AIL Padua and Coordinator of this significant appointment – As AIL, we feel strongly the call to live this closeness; every day our volunteers testify to the importance of being a community that leaves no one behind. The hope that Pope Francis invites us to cultivate is the one that guides us in our commitment: a hope that is never isolated, but is born of solidarity and concrete closeness. Life, the Pope reminds us, is “a time of encounter.” And we, as AIL, want to be that meeting point that brings care, dignity and love to those in need, supporting with our hearts every sick person, every family. Our mission is to build a society that lives in welcome, a community that, together, can make a difference in the lives of those who suffer. “At the end of the meeting with Pope Francis, participants made a choreographic display in St. Peter’s Square to celebrate the association’s 55 years of activity; by turning a red card upward, they created a striking light effect that formed the “55 AIL” symbol.
– Vatican Media Photos –
(ITALPRESS).
