Teen hospitalized during Jubilee being treated for lymphoma; he's accepted illness 'with faith'

ROME (OSV News) -- On Aug. 2, Carmen Gloria González and her husband received a call from Rome: Their son, Ignacio Gonzálvez, had been admitted to the hospital during the Jubilee of Youth, and they needed to go to Rome urgently.

"We feared the worst," González recalled of her son's first days at Rome's famed Bambino Gesù hospital. In the midst of the pilgrimage, 15-year-old Ignacio was admitted to the intensive care unit and sedated after suffering from an acute attack, causing him to collapse. It turned out he has lymphoma affecting his respiratory system, and almost three months later, they remain in Rome.

After the Jubilee crowds left Rome, Pope Leo XIV visited the boy in the hospital, and thousands of people across the world are praying for his recovery.

Asked how Ignacio is doing three months into his treatment, the mother told the Spanish Catholic news outlet Alfa y Omega, "He has good and average days, depending on whether he receives chemotherapy or tests. But he's responding and is now continuing treatment as an outpatient," she said.

As the shock of the first few days passed, she said it was still "very hard."

"Even though the doctors gave us the news with professionalism and compassion, and we are very grateful to the Bambino Gesú team -- the first 12 days were dizzying: his heart was exhausted, and cardiorespiratory arrest could occur at any moment."

The treatment ahead of the family is long term -- Ignacio's diagnosis means that it will last for two years. Ignacio, at his young age, takes on the challenges of the disease with a mature confidence in God's will.

"We're pleasantly surprised because although he's had days of depression, he hasn't grumbled against God at all. He accepts the illness with faith, praying for the pope, for those who pray for him, and for those who ask for his prayers. And he's endured all the side effects. I've seen him suffer in silence many times," his mother said.

Ignacio's disease has been a tectonic shift for his family.

"My husband and I haven't separated from Ignacio. I stayed with him. My husband looked after us from outside, bringing us what we needed. He was welcomed into the home of a sister of the Neocatechumenal Way, to which we belong," González told Alfa y Omega.

Staying in Rome meant that Igacio's father lost his job in Spain.

"But we're confident that this is our place. My other children, ages 24 and 17, returned to Spain when Ignacio left the ICU and were supported by the family from the very beginning. We handled the separation quite well. In September, we reunited for a weekend; we all needed it," she said.

Ignacio's mother described the attention the family got from strangers and extended family as "a breath of good love." "People, in Rome and Cartagena, are attentive," she said, "and we've received both small and large amounts of help. God will return it to them."

Asked about Pope Leo's visit in the hospital, González said that "it was the confirmation of God's presence in this" and that Ignacio's cross has been transformed "into something glorious."

"It's not that you don't suffer; you suffer, and a lot. The difference is that you live it with peace, with the certainty that, even if it doesn't seem so, if he allows it, everything will turn for the best. As Scripture says, 'What will separate us from the love of Christ?'"

Upon his hospital visit Aug. 4, the pope said that if the teen "had come all the way to Rome, then (the pope) could come all the way to the hospital to see him," González told Vatican News at the time.

Asked about coping with difficulties connected to a sudden shift in their lives, González said that "When life takes a 180-degree turn, you only have time to raise your hands, look to the sky, and let God guide you, because it's as if you were in the desert, with no signs and no way of escape.

"At that moment, a powerful and merciful God appears. To be honest, at first we couldn't even think. It was after the pope's visit that we calmed down and lived day to day with an indescribable peace," she said.

"Throughout the entire time, we have been sustained by prayer: that of an entire army of young people alongside the pope, of the neocatechumenal communities, of convents, of family members, of friends, believers and non-believers. We have not felt alone."

Ignacio's mother added: "We are experiencing a time of grace, feeling day after day the love of God, who is the author of this story. He is granting us peace in the midst of suffering. Only he can do this. We live by providence, in total precariousness. But he has provided a house in Rome for us, and the Peter Pan Foundation sends us a taxi every time we go to the hospital. God's providence exists."

During the evening prayer vigil in Rome's Tor Vergata neighborhood Aug. 2, Pope Leo had asked people to pray for "a young Spanish man, Ignacio," who was admitted to the Vatican-owned Bambino Gesù Pediatric Hospital in Rome. "Let us pray for him and for his health." That's how his story became known to millions across the globe.

"We received news from all over the world from people joining us in prayer. Many, after hearing about his serious condition, resumed prayer or began to pray. His youth group focused on prayer. They were deeply moved and experienced the pilgrimage differently. Ignacio, motionless and sedated, was moving people's hearts and bringing them closer to God."

González said she never regretted him going to the Jubilee of Youth.

"No. In fact, we believe God used the opportunity. Bambino Gesú is one of the best hospitals in the world for this type of cancer. We thank God they took him there; they literally saved his life."