Sisters Hospitallers: Learning humanity from the mentally ill
Vatican news
October 10 marks World Mental Health Day. The Superior General of the Hospitaller Sisters reflects on how people suffering from mental health problems have much to teach, particularly in matters of humanity, an indispensable virtue in our individualistic world.
By Patricia Ynestroza
World Mental Health Day is celebrated on October 10, 2024, with the theme: “Mental health at work”. In an interview with Vatican NewsSister Idília CarneiroSuperior General of the Hospitaller Sisters, a religious congregation primarily dedicated to the care of people with mental illnesses, intellectual disabilities and other special needs, reflects on the congregation’s main challenge after their General Chapter last May: maintaining their identity and presence in the world of health, particularly given the challenges posed by mental health, illness and psychological suffering, while embracing the congregation’s charismatic approach to the world.
Welcoming the mentally ill and learning from them
The Superior General stressed that it is essential to understand that the mentally ill are “people who experience psychological suffering”. The first step therefore consists of welcoming them into their reality as well as their families when the situation is more global. Illness, she emphasized, does not entirely define a person, it only affects certain dimensions, and each of these people has great human wealth and great sensitivity.
The Hospitaller Sisters experience their sensitivity and teach them to be more empathetic and “more attentive to each other, which can be a very enriching message for the society in which we live and which is increasingly individualistic. They help us to become more human, to live life deeply appreciating the smallest moments that each day brings us,” she said.
October 10: World Mental Health Day
This year’s theme is: “Mental health at work”. Sister Carneiro explained that this theme reflects a concern: work, with its stress and demands, can lead to personal disintegration, causing even more stress. This, in turn, can make a person’s life more fragile.
According to the nun, the biggest challenge is finding a balance in work, “which also has dimensions of personal fulfillment, meaning and contribution to a greater good.” It is essential to balance work with everything a human being has to offer, from their knowledge to their very being.
“This is, I believe, the biggest challenge and one that contributes to mental health. The rhythm of life, beyond just work, should help us feel human, not the other way around. It’s not just about work and mental health, but how everything we experience helps us cultivate integral well-being.
What the congregation does
In hospitals, nuns help people suffering from depression, notably by offering outpatient treatment for more resistant cases, supporting young people suffering from personality disorders, notably addicted to the Internet and other media.
The congregation is also making progress in the area of brain injuries and injuries, including neurological problems related to tumors, as well as in rehabilitation, which is another important area. They continue to grow in all areas of mental health, including treatments for anxiety and suicide attempts, working to help young and old people feel like their lives have meaning.
On the other hand, they are progressing in palliative care, helping and accompanying people and their families to find peace in the last stages of life, with a sense of hope. They continue to work in awareness, training, mental health prevention, rehabilitation and reintegration, thus contributing to a culture and a society more inclusive of these vulnerable people who, despite their challenges, can bring great humanity to our society.
General Chapter and meeting with Pope Francis
In May, during the celebration of the General Chapter of the congregation, the Sisters were received in audience by Pope Francis. Sister Carneiro recalled that the Pope challenged them to “live the ‘madness’ of love, to continue to live it, because the congregation has carried this spirit since its beginnings.”
The Holy Father also encouraged them to “cultivate their service and their love towards the sick, always with joy and hope, without ever losing the joy of the heart and by loving the most fragile people”.
Clothe yourself in mercy
Sister Carneiro’s program as Superior General, in place since May, will focus until 2030 on the theme: “Cloth yourselves with mercy”. This, she said, reflects the essence of the charism and sense of identity of the congregation, both in the Church and in the world: living hospitality through the merciful heart of Jesus.
Mercy: an embrace that heals and creates communion
The nun expanded on the program rooted in mercy, describing it as an “embrace that heals and creates communion.” This invites the sisters of the congregation to deepen their own identity as consecrated hospitallers, each having their own experience of mercy and becoming instruments of mercy for those who suffer.
The program will emphasize mercy as unlimited love that reflects the universal nature of the congregation. Present in 25 countries, their mission and presence are both universal and diverse. This highlights the need to reconfigure their presence to bring life and hope to each context. The congregation will consider mercy as the expression of a mission which makes visible the Samaritan face of the Church.
Mercy: the Samaritan face of the Church
From this perspective, the congregation models itself on the Samaritan face of the Church, dedicated to caring for and supporting people suffering from mental suffering in a global and holistic way.
In such an individualistic world, it is important to emphasize the presence of mercy, this “evangelizing force” within the mission of the Hospitaller Sisters. This mission is linked to “everything that concerns the identity and meaning of a hospital project shared between the sisters, the collaborators and nearly 3,000 lay people around the world”.
Their greatest challenge is to safeguard their identity, their presence in the field of health, with all the challenges that mental health, illness and psychological suffering represent, while maintaining the charismatic spirit of the congregation in the world.
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