“A gift from the Pope to all healthcare workers”: Mgr. Jean-Marie Musivi Mupendawatu, delegate secretary of the Dicastery for Promoting Integral Human Development, used these words to describe the new Charter for Healthcare Workers released today – by the will of Pope Francis – on the occasion of the press conference for the presentation of the 25^th World Day of the Sick, to be held in Lourdes on 11 February, in the presence of Cardinal Secretary of State Pietro Parolin as papal legate. “A long-awaited Charter”, Mgr. Mupendawatu called it, and a theological and moral “vade mecum” which, after 22 years, revises and updates the first Charter for Healthcare Workers, published by the then Pontifical Council for Health Care Workers in 19 languages, which became very popular all around the world. It is a “notable compendium of doctrine and practice”, the Vatican representative explained. The new Charter reaffirms, in a more topical and accessible language, “the sacredness of life and its inviolability as it is a gift from God”. In the document, healthcare workers are “ministers of life in that they are its servants and are called to love and accompany it throughout the existential journey of birth– life – death”, as in the headings of the three sections of the document. According to Mgr. Mupendawatu, the upcoming World Day of the Sick on 11 February will be “an extraordinary ecclesial event” and is expected to attract 11,000 people. It is the third time the Shrine of Lourdes has been chosen for the celebration of the Day: the first time was for the historic first Day of the Sick in 1993, which was followed by the 12^th edition celebrated in Lourdes in February 2004 to mark the 150^th anniversary of the proclamation of the dogma of the Immaculate Conception.