On Sunday 2 December at 8.45, His Holiness Benedict XVI will visit the highly regarded “San Giovanni Battista” Hospital of the Sovereign Military Order of Malta in Rome to meet with patients and staff. For over 35 years, this medical facility has been a leader in neurological treatment and rehabilitation of brain-damaged patients.

The Grand Master of the Order of Malta, Fra’ Andrew Bertie, and the members of the Sovereign Council, will welcome the Pope, together with Cardinal Pio Laghi, his direct representative to the Order.

After the solemn Mass celebrated for the sick and their families, the Holy Father will visit the hospital wards, making a special visit to patients in the reawakening unit, with its advanced rehabilitation therapies for those recovering from coma.

This will be the first visit any Pope has made to the Magliana Hospital which has an ancestral link with Saint Peter. The hospital was built around the area of the ancient “Castello della Magliana”, for centuries a summer residence for Popes. This site has been restored by the Order of Malta as a hospital, including a well respected nursing school. The “San Giovanni Battista” Hospital is managed and run by the Italian Association of the Order.