Volunteer Jubilee: Doctors from Italy offer free assistance in Rome

More than 5,000 doctors of The mercy (The mercies), the oldest volunteer movement in Italy, have arrived in Rome to participate in the Volunteer Jubilee that is celebrated this weekend.

This special event, framed in the Jubileo de la Esperanza, is dedicated to recognizing the service and daily commitment of those who choose to take care of others, charging an even deeper meaning due to the hospital admission of Pope Francis.

After making a stop at the Gemelli Hospital to express their proximity to the Holy Father, the volunteers deployed around the central church San Salvatore in Lauro to offer support, training, and free health care to anyone who wish.

Mons. Franco Agostinelli, national coordinator of the volunteers, inaugurated the day with a Mass in this Church – known above all for hosting important relics of Father Pío -, and subsequently made a pilgrimage to the Holy Gate of San Pedro. On Sunday, March 9, the volunteers will participate in the Holy Mass in the Plaza de San Pedro.

Free attention to the most fragile people

Throughout the day, the organization Mercy had ample space dedicated to Health missionan initiative for free health prevention open to all and without reservation. Volunteer doctors and qualified health personnel offered consultations and reviews in various areas, such as cardiology, dermatology, orthopedics or pediatrics.

In conversation with ACI Press, Annalisa Tavantini, one of the volunteers, explained that this initiative is carried out every year in different places in Italy. “This year we have decided to do it here, in the Volunteer Jubilee,” he added.

“We serve the entire population, but especially to the most fragile people who do not have access to this type of attention because they cannot afford it,” said Tavantini.

In addition, they offered diagnostic services such as ultrasound and radiographs, as well as blood pressure measurement, and psychological support, together with a point of health and social orientation, with special attention to people in vulnerability. They also carried out practical first aid exercises and resuscitation with the active participation of the public.

The oldest volunteer movement in Italy

The president of the Mercy From Italy, Domenico Giani, said that “with the Volunteer Jubilee we celebrated the heart of our mission, which for almost eight centuries calls us to serve those who are in need.”

“In a time marked by fragilities and uncertainties, we want to be a specific sign of hope and closeness, renewing, through this encounter, the force of a testimony that feeds every day of active charity and faith lived. It is a time to rediscover the deep sense of being volunteers and, at the same time, looking to the future with renewed responsibility for our communities and to those who suffer, ”he added.

The National Confederation Mercy From Italy it was founded in Florence in 1244 and after almost eight centuries of history they remain an essential reference in assistance, solidarity and support for the most vulnerable.

The Confederation groups more than 700 Brotherhoods throughout the country, with more than 670,000 members, of which 100,000 are actively involved in charity works and helps those in need. They provide health, civil protection and social assistance services, and also participate in international solidarity missions, especially in Ukraine and the Holy Land.