Free health care to Rome's impoverished, provided by Vatican's medical van

A donated camper van from the Vatican now serves as a mobile medical unit that transports volunteer health professionals and free health care straight to Rome's impoverished.

According to Catholic Herald, the Papal Almoner's office donated to a group of medical volunteers an RV-style vehicle transformed as a mobile medical unit. The vehicle transports medical supplies and free health care directly to the poor and homeless seeking shelter in shanty towns and abandoned buildings.

Driving around Rome's outskirts, the white and blue-striped camper van carries the license plate of the Vatican City and the markings of the Holy See's coat of arms. According to Supportive Medicine Association's Director Dr. Lucia Ercoli, this makes it easier to bring "the closeness of the Pope and the Church" to the migrants "who live in truly inhumane conditions."

These migrants, Ercoli noted, are those who have suffered the trauma and loss of loved ones when they embarked on a perilous journey to Italy by sea. Most of those receiving the free health care are children, women and expectant mothers.

The doctor also reported treating more than 2,000 people since they started using the camper van.

Last year, the Vatican provided the needy with free access to showers, bathrooms, barber shops and even a dormitory for the homeless, Catholic News Agency reported.

Earlier this year, the Vatican set up near the Bernini colonnade a clinic that provided free medical treatment for the poor.

"It seemed right to also provide free medical visits an indispensable service to the health of the poor who live among us," the papal almoner, Archbishop Konrad Krajewski, told the Vatican Radio.

Ercoli said that hundreds show up Saturday mornings for the medical services at the colonnade.

"We are grateful to Pope Francis for having wanted, once again, to give a concrete sign of mercy in St. Peter's Square for persons without a fixed residence or who are in difficulty," she said.