Originally published at National Catholic Register
A celebration of two beloved saints recently served to highlight an initiative to found an authentically Catholic hospital and medical school in the Midwest.
Bishop Earl Boyea of Lansing, Michigan, celebrated a Mass at Holy Spirit Parish in nearby Brighton, Michigan, on Oct. 5 in honor of St. Pio of Pietrelcina (Padre Pio) and St. Francis of Assisi, whose feast days fell just days before.
Bishop Boyea told a capacity crowd at dinner after Mass that the time is right for an authentically Catholic hospital in his diocese, which encompasses the state capital and much of southern Michigan. He said it will reflect the legacy of Padre Pio, who founded his Casa Sollievo della Sofferenza (Home for the Relief of Suffering) in Italy in the 1950s, and which was intended to be the first of many hospitals.
Earlier this year, nonprofit Catholic Healthcare International (CHI) signed a purchase agreement with Trinity Health, a national Catholic medical system, to buy a 140,000-square-foot hospital in Howell, Michigan, a rural small town. CHI Founder Jere Palazzolo told CNA the development comes as the culture of death increasingly endangers human life. The project’s episcopal advisers are Cardinal Raymond Burke and Bishop Boyea. Financing and
