“My child, in Calabria you must build a sanctuary, a children’s hospital, a research centre and a home for the suffering. Because there are children who will be born with tumours in their lungs, in their blood and elsewhere, and they must be cured with natural medicines, with the herbs that grow there and with the water that flows there”.
It was 2004 when Padre Pio asked Irene to build a centre to lovingly welcome those in need, to help sick children and the suffering, indicating the precise location in Calabria: Drapia.
Thus began the biggest and most ambitious project of her life, the one on which she has worked so hard and which has made her a witness to a huge plan for the salvation of future generations.
The Cittadella di Padre Pio is a complex of facilities covering over 160,000 m2 of land for the care and treatment of paediatric cancers as well as a centre of great hope and warmth devoted to humanising medicine and to comforting the suffering.
It also includes homes for the elderly, young offenders and the disabled, built next to the Cittadella, in the Contrada Brattirò.
It stands on the plateau that overlooks the Cittadella di Padre Pio and dominates the Gulf of Tropea. “That is where Father wants it, where Jesus appeared eighteen times and proclaimed himself the king of kings”.
It has 280 beds for the treatment of various different tumours (hematologic, lung, sarcomas, central nervous system tumours), with equipment, spaces, music therapy activities, education and recreation activities in the gyms and the scenic indoor swimming pools.
With laboratories for processing the farm produce of the land in Contrada Brattirò - next to the Cittadella – which is then transferred to the “Cuore Alimentare” kitchen. Conceived to give its guests the chance to rehabilitate, cooperate and challenge themselves with charity and love in this great project of faith.
With laboratories for processing the farm produce of the land in Contrada Brattirò - next to the Cittadella – which is then transferred to the “Cuore Alimentare” kitchen. Conceived to give its guests the chance to rehabilitate, cooperate and challenge themselves with charity and love in this great project of faith.
Here there are offices, laboratories, a large greenhouse and an auditorium to seat hundreds of people. It is intended for the study of medicinal herbs and is the ultimate point of reference for medical-scientific training of professionals who share the faith and hope vocation of the Cittadella.
The “Cuore Alimentare” transforms the fruits of the land and locally farmed animals to nourish both body and soul. The kitchen of over 1,000 m2 can prepare more than 4,000 meals a day, of which almost 1,000 are specially made in line with specific treatments.
With 12 bedrooms and 36 beds, it is a place of love and humanity where child cancer patients are hosted during pre- and post-treatment stages. It is crowned by a statue of Our Lady of Tears who receives and gives comfort, with the same open arms that Padre Pio has shown through Irene. The home is being completed and will be ready to welcome children in spring 2021.
In collaboration with various Technical Insitutes in Vibo Valentia (Istituto Tecnico Industriale, Tecnico Agrario, Tecnico Geometri), plans have been launched for a Galenic Secondary School for chemistry and agriculture to produce chemical experts and agrotechnicians, both specialised in the study of medicinal herbs.
Here is where the families of the Cittadella’s young patients are accommodated. Mini apartments close to the centre of the Cittadella, to reduce distances and other difficulties for parents and allow them to look after their children with the great “therapeutic” love that is part of life itself.
Here is where the families of the Cittadella’s young patients are accommodated. Mini apartments close to the centre of the Cittadella, to reduce distances and other difficulties for parents and allow them to look after their children with the great “therapeutic” love that is part of life itself.
THE CITTADELLA ACCORDING TO ITS PLAYERS
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