# Pope Leo XIV embraces paediatric patients at CNAO in Pavia

- Link: https://www.thailand-business-news.com/pr-news/pope-leo-xiv-embraces-paediatric-patients-at-cnao-in-pavia
- Published: 2026-06-20T22:50:00+07:00
- Author: PR Newswire

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PAVIA, Italy, June 20, 2026 /PRNewswire/ — The National Center for Oncological Hadrontherapy(
CNAO) served as the first stop today during Pope Leo XIV’s pastoral visit to the
city of Pavia. His choice to begin his journey at this center reflects a profound
commitment to fostering meaningful dialogue between advanced scientific progress
and the alleviation of human suffering.

CNAO President Gianluca Vago and General Manager Sandro Rossi received His Holiness,
illustrating the center’s distinctive capabilities. CNAO stands out as a unique 
reality in Italy, remaining one of the very few facilities worldwide capable of 
delivering hadrontherapy using both protons and carbon ions. The technological core
of the facility is its synchrotron, a subatomic particle accelerator that generates
ultra-high-precision beams to treat complex, inoperable and radioresistant tumours.
This cutting-edge technology allows for the targeted eradication of diseased cells
while meticulously preserving surrounding healthy tissues, drastically improving
patients’ survival and quality of life.

Furthermore, CNAO is expanding its capabilities as a premier multi-center utilizing
new ion species, like Helium, later Oxygen and Neon. Soon, treatments will incorporate
the Leo Cancer Care upright positioning and imaging system. The immediate future
also includes beginning therapies with a Hitachi dedicated proton accelerator and
gantry and a BNCT system for metastatic diseases, equipped with an electrostatic
accelerator produced by TAE Life Science. With these new technologies, CNAO will
become one of the most technologically advanced center in the world.

To date, over six thousand individuals, including approximately three hundred children
and adolescents, have benefited from these life-saving treatments.

During his visit, the Pope engaged with CNAO’s Board of Directors, a collaborative
body uniting national universities, clinical institutions, and research centers.
He also extended his heartfelt greetings to the two hundred employees of the center.
These doctors, physicists, engineers, and researchers tirelessly operate the advanced
technologies in the service of oncology patients.

The emotional pinnacle of the day was the Holy Father’s private gathering with a
delegation of young children who underwent treatment. The paediatric patients and
their families shared a deeply touching moment of closeness, receiving the Pope’s
comforting embrace.

"The visit of Pope Leo XIV honours us and represents a moment of extraordinary human
value", stated CNAO President Gianluca Vago. "In his encyclical _Magnifica Humanitas_,
the Holy Father emphasizes the necessity of a science that constantly safeguards
the centrality of the person and directs technology toward the common good. In a
time marked by global tensions, CNAO testifies daily how the incredible power of
the atom can be used not to destroy, but to heal. The particle beams we utilize 
against disease are, symbolically, Rays of Hope, sharing and supporting the IAEA
project bearing this name. The embrace the Holy Father reserved for our children
reminds us that scientific research finds its most authentic purpose when it encounters
listening, compassion, and hope".

 [⌊Pope Leo XIV visiting the National Center for Oncological Hadrontherapy (CNAO) in Pavia - Italy⌉](https://mma.prnasia.com/media2/2997869/Papa_al_Cnao_crediti_Andrea_Perotti.jpg?p=medium600)

Pope Leo XIV visiting the National Center for Oncological Hadrontherapy (CNAO) in
Pavia – Italy

 

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