Message from the Bishop
The Most Revd Geoffrey Jarrett, DD,
Bishop of Lismore
Welcome to the website of St Vincents Private Hospital, Lismore, NSW.
A long and great tradition lies behind the Christian care of the sick. The word 'hospital' itself comes down to us from the earliest Christian centuries as the virtue of hospitality taught by Christ our Lord led to the foundation of hospices which sheltered travellers, gave help to the poor, the sick, orphaned children and the aged.
The large modern hospitals which are a feature of Catholic health care in Australia today trace a fascinating history across twenty centuries and a huge variety of institutions and customs in times and places of long ago when the Church was the expected and only provider of this care.
The common thread is the response to the example of Jesus Christ who "healed all kinds of diseases and sickness" (St. Matthew 10:1) and such of His words as; "I was a stranger and you made me welcome, sick and you visited me . . . as you did this to one of the least of my brethren, you did it to me." (St. Matthew 25:34-30)
St Vincents Private Hospital, Lismore, was established in 1921 by my predecessor Bishop John Carroll, who entrusted its care as a diocesan hospital to the Sisters of Charity.
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The tradition which the Sisters built over sixty years at length passed to the direct management of the Diocese, and the inheritance of that spirit of Christian service in the care of the sick is carried on today by a devoted professional lay staff.
A Pastoral Care team of dedicated staff and volunteers, including priests and ministers and religious sisters, continues to care for the spiritual needs of patients, their relatives and those whose daily life brings them in contact with the hospital community.
The faith and the moral and ethical teachings of Christ and His Church are well known as the consistent foundations and guiding principles upon which this Catholic hospital conducts its mission of care for the sick. We value especially the teaching of the late Pope John Paul II in relating this perennial teaching to the questions and challenges of the world of today. He has given us a renewed appreciation of the immense value and dignity of the human person, and taught us to respect more deeply that mystery of life that has been planted at the heart of our being by none other than the Author of life Himself.
It is with God's help that we continue into the future our work of caring for those who seek health and healing at St Vincents Private Hospital. |
