In response to the Covid-19 pandemic, this volume reflects on the way that the Church, from the earliest times, has cared for the sick and for the physical and spiritual health of society. Anointing and praying for the sick have always been combined with medical care. Religious foundations such as leper hospitals cared for the diseased but also isolated them to protect the health of society. The institutionalization of the Church's care for the sick led to the foundation of hospitals and medical schools. Many of the articles focus on the Church's response to sickness, especially pandemics. Others explore the connection between the Church and the medical profession, the clerical experience of sickness, and the ways that sickness has served as a metaphor for understanding the Church and its place in the world.
