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 the pain of the other”.
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.