VATICAN (SE): “The Holy Father is indeed concerned about this deadly pandemic which has shaken the whole world,” Archbishop Tarcisius Ziyaye of Lilongwe, the capital of Malawi said after Pope Francis donated several ventilators to the Likuni Mission Hospital, Vatican News reported on August 23.
The gift was made in the pope’s name by Archbishop Gianfranco Gallone, the apostolic nuncio to Malawi and Zambia and was delivered to the Missionary Sisters of St Francis of Assisi, who run the facility, by Archbishop Ziyaye.
“As a token of our gratitude to the Holy Father, let us continue to pray for him,” Archbishop Ziyaye added.
Sister Agnes Lungu, the hospital’s administrator, expressed her gratitude saing, “On behalf of the hospital we are very much grateful for the donation and that the Holy Father thinks of us and comes to our assistance.”
The Likuni Mission Hospital is owned by Catholic Bishops’ Conference of Malawi and is reportedly underprepared to deal with the Covid-19 coronavirus (SARS-CoV-2) outbreak.
Malawi registered over 5,400 cases and 168 deaths as of August 24.
Thanks to an influx of donations from abroad, the local Catholic Church has mobilised it network of missionary hospitals to deal with the crisis.
