World Day of the Sick 2026

Pope Leo XIV has chosen the theme for the 34th World Day of the Sick, which will be celebrated on February 11, 2026: “The compassion of the Samaritan: loving by bearing another’s pain”.

The Holy See Press Office also communicates that the Holy Father has appointed His Eminence Cardinal Michael Czerny, S.J., prefect of the Dicastery for Promoting Integral Human Development, as his special envoy to the 34th World Day of the Sick, to be held on 11 February 2026 at the Shrine of Nuestra Señora de la Paz, in the diocese of Chiclayo, Peru, which has significant meaning for the earlier episcopal ministry of Pope Leo XIV.

The theme of the World Day of the Sick, focusing on the Gospel figure of the Samaritan who shows love by caring for the suffering man who fell into the hands of thieves, highlights this aspect of love of neighbor: love needs concrete gestures of closeness, through which we enter into the suffering of others, those who are ill, especially those who at the same time experience poverty, isolation, and loneliness .

The World Day of the Sick, established by St. John Paul II in 1992, is a privileged moment of prayer, spiritual closeness, and reflection for the entire Church and for civil society, who are all called to recognize the face of Christ in our sick and vulnerable brothers and sisters. 

With the solemn celebration in Chiclayo, the Universal Church looks to Latin America and its rich tradition of solidarity. Like the Good Samaritan that bent down to help the injured man along the road, the Christian community is also called to stop and help those who suffer and be evangelical witnesses of closeness and service to the sick and most vulnerable.

On Tuesday, 20 January 2026, Pope Leo XIV’s message for the World Day of the Sick 2026, entitled “The compassion of the Samaritan: loving by bearing another’s pain”, was presented at the Holy See Press Office.

In his message, the Holy Father takes up the parable of the Good Samaritan as a central image of Christian charity: to truly love means to stop, to draw near, and to care for those who suffer. Compassion, in fact, is not only a feeling but translates into concrete gestures and shared commitment, particularly towards the sick.

Loving one’s neighbor thus becomes a visible proof of love for God and implies a healthy and true way of loving oneself. In this perspective, caring for the sick and the most fragile is not an optional gesture, but one of the clearest signs of fidelity to the Gospel.

The following spoke at the press conference:

• Cardinal Michael Czerny, SJ, Prefect of the Dicastery for Promoting Integral Human Development; Pope Leo’s official delegate for the World Day of the Sick in Chiclayo, Peru.
• Fr. Michel Daubanes, Rector of the Shrine of Our Lady of Lourdes.
• Dr. Giulia Civitelli, medical director of the Caritas clinic in Rome (Secular Scalabrinian Missionary).
• Marina Melone, from “Casa Gelsomino” in the parish of San Gregorio VII, a facility that welcomes and helps the families of children hospitalized at the Bambino Gesù Hospital.

Leading up to the World Day of the Sick on 11 February 2026, the Dicastery for Promoting Integral Human Development has also produced pastoral resources to facilitate its celebration in churches around the world, including a liturgical guide, suggestions for homilies, prayers, and activities for young people, children, and adults.