In his message for the 26th World Day of the Sick celebrated on 11 February, 2018, the Pope recalled the service provided by Catholic institutions that care for those suffering from physical and spiritual sickness.

I.MEDIA went to see Brother Binish Mulackal, from India, the Director of the Vatican Pharmacy who joined the Hospitaller Order of St John of God in 1998. The ‘Fatebenefratelli’ (as the Hospitaller Brothers are familiarly known in Italy), have been performing their mission in the Vatican Pharmacy since 1874.

The Order has about 1,100 Brothers. “I’m one of them, and like all of them, I perform the mission that has been entrusted to our Order,” Bro. Binish says modestly. “I always thought I’d be working in one of the Order’s many hospitals, but I never dreamt that one day I would be called to take up this post. I joined the Order in 1998, in the Indian Province, and after completing my studies I was sent to Rome in 2007. I was 26, and had not yet made my solemn vows, and neither did I speak Italian.” After taking an intensive Italian language course and serving as the Deputy Director of the Vatican Pharmacy for several years, in 2016 Bro. Binish was appointed Director – a task which he is performing efficiently and professionally, particularly when we look at the projects currently in the pipeline, such as the expansion of the premises and the modernisation of the laboratory.

The young Director is also planning to robotise the movement of medicines from the shelves to the counter. This will enable the pharmacist to devote more time to his customers, and could also prevent any human errors. It should not be forgotten that the Vatican Pharmacy is one of the busiest in the world, with as many as 2,500 customers a day.

Despite all these commitments, Brother Binish Mulackal does not neglect the spiritual side of his life. For him, faith is above all “an intensely personal relationship with God. All I do and the way I conduct myself flow from my faith.” Faced by so many daily challenges, “Faith, underpinned by hope and love, is an invaluable and indispensable source of support”, he adds. It is the faith which is uniquely marked by the fourth vow that all the Brothers of St John of God make: the vow of Hospitality.

Filled with confidence in God, which gives him a positive mental outlook, Bro. Binish views himself as a humble “instrument of God” at the service of the sick.