I have not had time to translate the lengthy interview with the Pope's personal physician, Dr. Patrizio Polisca, from the 8/21/10 issue of the OR, but I have translated the part of it where he talks about Benedict XVI, because it was largely ignored in the CNA account of the interview, which I am posting after the interview excerpt.
When Benedict XVI first left
his doctor speechless with surprise
Excerpt from an interview
by MARIO PONZI
Translated from the 8/21/10 issue of
What was it like when Benedict XVI was elected Pope?
I had known the Cardinal Dean for some time, and Dr. (Renato) Buzzonetti and I happened to be the first lay persons to be greeted by the new Pope [upon leaving the Sistine Chapel after the election]. And here came my first great surprise - because he recalled our first meeting which had taken place about 15 years earlier. He recalled that we had spoken then about St. Bonaventure! I was so stupefied I became incapable of a response. I did not know what to say - perhaps I answered with one of those silly grins when one does not know what to say!
When he named Dr. Buzzetti Emeritus Archiater [old-fashioned term meaning chief physician to a monarch or other important personage],
Benedict XVI chose you to be his personal physician, did you think of the Spanish nun who had told you years before that you would be the Pope's physician?
After the initial emotions, I must admit I did. Mother Caridad is quite old now and lives in a convent in Barcelona. I would like to visit her, but my life has changed and I use the little free time left to me to dedicate to my family.
[Maybe Dr. Polisca can visit her when he goes to Barcelona with the Pope in November.]
As the Pope's personal physician, what is your day like?
Because of the great responsibility entrusted to him, the personal physician to the Pope has the duty to keep constantly up to date in medicine and maintain his professional competence. That is why I have not given up my position at the University Hospital of Tor Vergata, where I am with the department of cardiac surgery, and therefore, I get involved in clinical cases that can be very complex. But every doctor requires continuing medical education, so I spend my weekends reading up.
What is the relationship between the Pope and his physician?
Let me recount an episode. One day, I met a colleague who is a university professor, and he asked me most solemnly: "So do you have to make house calls on the Pope?" Suddenly, I felt a shiver down my spine. I was caught unaware, and even my colleague must have noted it because he went on to talk about other matters.
But now, I can say that I cannot imagine my life without my responsibility to the Pope and to the Church, but I take this on with joy which my family shares. Because it is like a dream come true: to exercise my profession and to do it within the context that I have always thought about: as a Christian. And doing so with its most important representative on earth.
You also preside over the medical commission that passes professional judgment on miraculous healings presented to the Congregation for the Causes of Sainthood... [NB: There are no permanent members other than the chairman because each commission is composed of specialists in the area of medicine associated with a specific miracle.]
That is another marvelous experience. It enables me to work with outstanding colleagues, and to be able to be part of such a team is a great honor. We are asked to verify that a miraculous healing is indeed not explainable by science and known facts, and can only be attributed to the miraculous intercession of the candidate saint.
Any case that stands out so far?
I was personally very struck by the instantaneous, simultaneous and lasting cure of two children in the Peruvian Andes, whose parents prayed to Bishop Giuseppe Marello, who was beatified in 1993 and canonized in 2001. The children both had a most serious lung disease which would have been terminal, but both were healed instantly, at the same time, and without any treatment at all.
A Spanish nun predicted to Dr. Polisca
he would become physician to a Pope
Vatican City, Aug 21, 2010 (CNA/EWTN News).- In an interview with L'Osservatore Romano, Pope Benedict XVI's doctor reflected on his more than 30 years as a doctor to the Popes. In various capacities, he served John Paul II and continues to serve Benedict XVI, a responsibility which at least one person foresaw he would hold.
Mario Ponzi of L'Osservatore Romano (LOR) interviewed Dr. Patrizio Polisca, director of the Vatican's health services department and the Pope's personal physician, for an article to be released on Saturday. Dr. Polisca has been the head papal physician since June 2009 and was just named the director of the Vatican's internal health department last month.
The Italian from modest beginnings recalled when he began working as a doctor in Rome in the 1970s, particularly his time with a community of Spanish religious sisters. The mother superior of the order, Mother Caridad, told him repeatedly at the time that he would one day become the Pope's personal doctor.
In 1987, that is exactly what happened as he was chosen by the papal physician at the time, Dr. Renato Buzzonetti, to work in the summer rotation at Castel Gandolfo. Before long, he found himself introduced to John Paul II, an encounter which gave him goosebumps as he recalled Mother Caridad's words.
Then, in 1994, Dr. Polisca was invited to become a health officer in the Vatican's medical corps, a placement that made him "very happy," considering he never thought that he would be in that position. "I never had specific career goals," he observed, "and all that happened to me appeared to follow a precise design. Certainly not mine, although it was beautiful and it filled me with joy and new enthusiasm."
He started joining in on the longer papal trips at the invitation of Dr. Buzzonetti. He said that he still remembers every moment of the first trip he took with Pope John Paul II, the 1997 trip to Cuba. The most impressive aspect of the experience, he told LOR, was "the magnetism (the Pope) exercised over the crowds."
Of all the memories from trips, though, he said that Mass at the Cenacle during the papal visit to the Holy Land in 2000 was "unforgettable."
He went on to recount other important moments to LOR, particularly how he cared for Pope John Paul II in his final days and was on guard during the conclave that would elect Cardinal Ratzinger as Pope.
When he was named the Pope's physician in 2009, he once again was reminded of Mother Caridad's words.
These days, the physician explained that he keeps up-to-date with his profession practicing as a heart surgeon at the University Hospital of Tor Vergata in Rome and by studying when he can, especially on weekends.
Reflecting on the weight of his position, he said that he couldn't imagine his life "without the responsibility to the Pope and the Church. But, I live it as a joy..."
[Modificato da TERESA BENEDETTA 22/08/2010 00:43]