I do not often administer the Sacrament of the Anointing of the Sick, since I have been involved in youth ministry for years. However, it has played a certain role in my formation as a Jesuit and here I let three significant episodes emerge. The first goes back to the time when I was studying in France. I participated in an assembly of companions in Lourdes. We were questioning ourselves about the meaning of fragility in our apostolic spirituality. On that occasion, we celebrated the Eucharist in which the sick and the elderly were able to receive the Sacrament of Anointing. I remember the sense of communion among us and with the context. Not unlike the many faithful who come to Lourdes in search of exterior and interior healing, we too, as a religious body, entrusted ourselves to the grace of Christ, under the gaze of Mary. 

The second episode is also related to Lourdes, although in a totally different context. In Cuba, in order to assume the stage of formation that precedes the final vows, I lived an experience of insertion in a parish in Camagüey. The local community of religious sisters took me to visit the sick and the elderly to invite them to the celebration of February 11th, when the Sacrament of the Anointing of the Sick was celebrated. It was a time rich in life stories, in the joy of being able to give to the Lord fatigue and pain. And we, nuns and priests, felt we were an extension of his healing action. 

The third occasion: I am currently a parochial vicar. In this role I happened to administer the sacrament to a very old and already unconscious person. I ask the relatives why they did not call a priest earlier. They consider this sacrament as an “extreme unction” and postponed it until the last moment so as not to frighten the sick person. What a pity! I tried to explain to them that it is a gift that helps to better live with the fatigue of  illness, whether it is mortal or simply painful. And it can be administered several times. If only people understood the Sacrament better…

Father Marco Colò SJ

Vice National Director EYM Italy