The Catholic bulletin. [volume] (St. Paul, Minn.) 1911-1995, 1917-11-03
ORIGIN OF CITY HOSPITALS.

ORlGlN OF CITY HOSPITALS.
In this age of material progress
| there is much that ELECTS the praise
| of mankind, there is much which eX-
| cites the admiration of man. The
| cities of nations are dotted with splen-
did schools, universities, libraries,
| churches and hospitals.
! 1t is concerning the latter institu-
| tions that l choose to make a few
remarks. Our modern city hospitals
| of today are, as we know, the admir-
alton Of the world. They stand de-
| serVed1y high for the humanity and
| high professional skill given to ale
viate the many ills which the human
race is heir to. But for the exist
ence of our hospitals the lot of the
sick would be pitiable indeed, the list
of deaths would swell enormously.
We owe honor and praise to the
men who built them. to the good Sa-
maritans who care for the sick and
| dying. Money, ambitions and energy
were never given for a more meri-
| torious, for a more needful cause. The
| splendid hospitals of our day give to
| their inmates the best of medical and
surgical care; every possible comfort
and care is given to the patients; kind,
| patient, well-trained nurses are at the
| command of the sick. Anyone who
| has ever visited a hospital was, I'M
doubtedly struck by the order, clean
| Illness and scientific arrangement of
| things.
1t is pleasing and gratifying to know
that the modern city hospitals of our
| day owe their origin to the work of
| Pope Innocent III, who reigned from
| the year 1893 to 1916.
y Previous TO his. time there existed
hospitals, but these had been estab-
lished principally for the purpose of
furnishing hospitality to strangers
| and to those who, for the time being,
| had no habitation. They were not es-
| tablished for the purpose of caring
for the sick Conditions in those days
were quite different; the sick were
cared for privately.
| 1t remained for Pope Innocent III to
recognize the need for the establish
ment of city hospitals whose principal
work and duty would be tostake care
of those acutely ill and those injured
by accidents.
| History speaks of that first city hos
pital, founded by the Pontiff in the
| city of Rome, as the Mother" of our
| present city hospitals. The Church
throughout the world watched this new
enterprise of their beloved Pontiff with
| interest and expectation. They re-
| joiced at the success which this hos
pital enjoyed from the very beginning
of its life. Taking it as their model,
many cities began to build their hos
| pitfalls. From that period on up to our
present age, their progress and devel-
| opment have been steady.
| The Catholic Church has kept
| abreast in this field of work There
arose various religious orders whose
chief work consists in the care of the
sick. Indeed, the Sisterhood has done
much toward bringing the efficiency
of our city hospitals up to their pres
est standard. All Catholic institutions
| of this kind are a success and the
work of the Sisters, especially, has
been praised and commented upon by
the non-Catholic as well as by the Ca.
| tholic world.
/ Moreover, the erection of hospitals
gave a great impetus to the science
of medicine and, above all, to the sci
ence of surgery. Surgery had been
practiced before the coming of city
hospitals; it was practiced by the Hin
docs even before the Christian era
| had set in Yet, surgery came into
it's own only after the establishment
/ of the hospitals. During the past and
| present century surgery has come to
the front with rush. The work per.
formed by the skilled surgeons of our
day is the wonder and qualification OF
the lay-world.
All this progress is the consequence
of the erection of city hospitals. Thus
in the lapse of centuries, we see how
the work, begun by Pope Innocent III,
has spread throughout the entire
world The Church has ever been ac-
| tive in humanitarian work
Thus, the Mother hospital' in the
| Eternal City, which still exists today
looks out upon the world with pride
and joy. 1t is the origin and model OF
the countless city hospitals which are
scattered abroad throughout the many
nations of the world.
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SEEING DISTANCES.