The President of the Episcopate Thanked Nurses and Midwives for Their Effort and Dedication
“I would like to address my best wishes to nurses and midwives and express my gratitude for the effort and dedication they put into their responsible and much-needed work,” wrote the President of the Polish Bishops’ Conference, Archbishop Stanisław Gądecki, in his message on the occasion of the International Day of Nurses, Nursing and Midwifery, which falls on May 12th.
The Episcopate’s President stressed that the gratitude of millions of Poles to these professional groups is all the greater because their work is currently performed in midst of a pandemic situation. “These are extraordinary circumstances, and this service—rendered at the risk of their own health and life—requires not only knowledge and experience, but above all courage, fortitude, and the ability to perceive their work as both a mission and a service for others,” he noted.
The President of the Episcopate also thanked all the families of nurses and midwives “for their patience in bearing the absence of their loved ones, whose ministry often requires them to spend additional hours with the sick and needy,” and he assured of his prayers “for eternal life for those health care workers who gave their lives in connection with their service during the pandemic.”
Press Office of the Polish Bishops’ Conference
We are publishing the full text of the Message:
MESSAGE
OF THE PRESIDENT OF THE POLISH BISHOPS’ CONFERENCE
ON THE OCCASION OF THE INTERNATIONAL NURSES DAY NURSING, AND MIDWIFERY
On May 12th, we celebrate the International Day of the Nurse, Nursing, and Midwifery. It is the feast day of those whose work is, first and foremost, the service of human life and health, which is the basic good of every human being. Nurses and midwives are called to be—through their love for the sick and suffering—a living image of Christ and His Church.
On this occasion, on behalf of the Polish Bishops’ Conference, I would like to address my best wishes to nurses and midwives and express my gratitude for the effort and dedication they put into their responsible and much-needed work. My gratitude—and, I believe, that of millions of our compatriots—is all the greater given the fact that this work is now being carried out in the context of the pandemic that the whole world has been facing in recent months. These are extraordinary circumstances, and this service—rendered at the risk of their own health and life—requires not only knowledge and experience, but above all courage, fortitude, and the ability to perceive their work as both a mission and a service for others. Thanks to their attitude—despite huge efforts, overtime, and fatigue—every patient can receive something more than just medical help.
The service of nurses consists not only in providing medical care to the sick. It is also personal “feeling”, “touching”, “empathy” with the sick person. In the colloquial sense, it is an attitude of empathy with what the sick are experiencing. In this year’s message for the XXIX World Day of the Sick, the Pope encourages us to pay attention to the suffering person by adopting the attitude of a merciful Samaritan. He urges us to stop, to listen, to establish a direct and personal relationship with the other person, to show him or her empathy and emotion.
I would also like to take this opportunity to thank all the families of nurses and midwives for their patience in bearing the absence of their loved ones, whose ministry often requires them to spend additional hours with the sick and needy.
I pray for eternal life for those health care workers who gave their lives in the line of duty during the pandemic. I trust that the good Lord will show to them all His merciful face, as He has shown it to them before in the sick and suffering they served.
To all nurses and midwives, I give my heartfelt blessing!
Warsaw, May 11th, 2021
(translation from Polish: P. Nau / Office for Foreign Communication of the Polish Bishops’ Conference)
