Caring for the sick is above all an encounter that can transform both the one who receives care and the one who gives it. This has been said in a message issued by the Bishops’ Conference of England and Wales to celebrate the 34th World Day of the Sick, which will be held tomorrow to coincide with the liturgical Feast of Our Lady of Lourdes, by Bishop Paul Mason, Lead Bishop for Healthcare at the Bishops’ Conference of England and Wales. As he reflected on Pope Leo’s message for the Day, “the compassion of the Samaritan: loving by bearing another’s pain”, Bishop Mason pointed out that “caring for the sick is never limited to treatment or the easing of physical suffering. It is a relationship, an encounter that embraces the whole person”. “As Pope Leo mentions, the life of Saint Francis of Assisi offers a powerful example of this”, Bishop Mason’s message went on. “Actually, once repulsed by the sight of leprosy, Francis took the step of embracing and kissing a man affected by the disease. This encounter changed his life forever and led him to a ministry of service among the sick and excluded of the leper colonies. For both St Francis and the leper, that meeting became a source of grace”.