Fr. Brambilla, Christmas in hospital: The sick person is a person we need to encounter (Photo)

by Michele Brambilla

The PIME regional superior directs the St. Vincent Hospital in Dinajpur. The healthcare facility is at the forefront in the country, one of the few that offers physiotherapy services. A new wing will open in September 2020 and will host delivery rooms and hospital rooms.

Dinajpur (AsiaNews) - The sick person “is a person we need to encounter. My job as a priest is to teach that the first cure is to show our closeness to him. If I see some nurses stopping to talk for a long time with the sick, I close my eyes as director to open those of man and priest and rejoice at this encounter between the "suffering" and the "healer" ". Fr. Michele Brambilla, PIME regional superior (Pontifical Institute for Foreign Missions) in Bangladesh. The priest lives in Dinajpur, where he directs the St. Vincent Hospital, the diocesan hospital. Previously, he was the first pastor of the Church of the Conversion of St. Paul in Kodbir, a former sub-center of the parish of Dhanjuri. Below is his Christmas letter to all friends and readers.

Dearest friends,

another year comes to an end and we are preparing to celebrate Holy Christmas.

I chose this year to help a young PIME priest who is in a parish about 40 km from Dinajpur on Advent weekends. Visiting the villages, meeting people, carrying the sacraments, remind me of the eight years spent in pastoral care in the parishes of Dhanjuri and Kodbir. Two experiences that marked me deeply and one job, the pastoral one, to which I hope to return in a few years.

Nostalgia aside, I must say that the assignment in the hospital is interesting and I try to do my best to carry on the work done by my predecessors in the service of the sick and poor.

The new physiotherapy center is well regarded by the patients who attend it and they find a doctor and physiotherapist always available. Physiotherapy is new here in Dinajpur where in addition to our center there are only two hospitals that offer this service. Furthermore, people would like to heal immediately and therefore the first job to do is to explain that physiotherapy requires time and determination from the patient, who must not abandon the ongoing treatment.

Work on the new hospital wing is proceeding as scheduled. The masonry work is expected to be finished for the end of September 2020, then another job will be to purchase and install the new equipment. This new wing will host the operating theatres, the delivery rooms and hospital wards.

During the past few years, through the generosity of many people, we have managed to purchase new equipment for various hospital departments including the delivery room and physiotherapy. Our heartfelt thanks go to all those who support us.

Another aspect that I would like to introduce you to is our government-recognized nursing school. The school hosts 180 students, 80 of whom are housed in the hostel inside the hospital. Their educational curriculum includes three years of internship courses. Each year 60 students pass the government exam and enter the world of work. I, as director, am asked to supervise the discipline, but as a priest to teach that the patient is a person to encounter and that the first cure is to show our closeness to him. If I see some nurses stop to talk for a long time with a patient, I close my director's eyes to open those of man and priest and rejoice at this encounter between the "suffering" and the "healer".

To you all my best wishes for a peaceful Christmas and happy new year.