TIERF Representatives Meet with Pope, Deliver Mobile Hospital Units

Published: 12/22/2017 9:33:00 AM

Representatives from The Italy Earthquake Relief Fund, including Villa Charities Foundation Board Vice Chair Sam Ciccolini, TIERF President and VCF Board Director Eligio Gaudio and VCF Board Director Toni Varone, Bob Sacco, Eddy Burello, Elio Luongo and Mario Paura, attended an audience and blessing with His Holiness Pope Francis on December 22, 2017. CEO of the World Bank, Dr. Kristalina Georgieva, and MPP, Marco Mendicino, on behalf of the Federal Government, also attended.

The two mobile hospital units purchased by TIERF were blessed by Pope Francis and delivered to Amatrice and Norcia, two communities hardest hit by devastating earthquakes in 2016 and 2017.

Pope Francis and Dr. Geogieva both lauded the technology available through the mobile hospital units, which will allow the units to connect remotely with the Gemilli teaching hospital in Rome and provide communities with high-quality care. The mobile hospital units are also being considered as a blueprint for future Vatican and World Bank projects.

Villa Charities is proud to have been among the founding organizations of TIERF, and continues to support TIERF and its commitment to helping the people and communities affected by massive earthquakes in central Italy.