Vatican Pharmacy

Vatican Pharmacy

The Vatican Pharmacy (Latin and Italian: Farmacia Vaticana) is the only pharmacy in the Vatican City, founded in 1874 by Eusebio Ludvig Fronmen, a Fatebenefratelli monk.[1] According to Vatican sources, it is the busiest pharmacy in the world, with 2,000 customers per day.[1]

The current director of the pharmacy is Joseph Kattackal, also a Fatebenefratelli monk.[1] Although the director of the pharmacy has always been a monk of that order, the staff pharmacists (today numbering 45) have been lay for the past 30 years.[1] The pharmacy is organized under the Directorate of Health Services, one of eight Vatican City directorates.[2]

Contents

History

The pharmacy was founded in 1874, at the height of the "Roman Question", when Cardinal Secretary of State Giacomo Antonelli asked Eusebio Ludvig Fronmen, a Fatebenefratelli monk, who ran a nearby pharmacy, to take charge of supplying medicines for the pope and cardinals residing in the Vatican.[1] Popes had been confined to the Vatican since an 1870 dispute with the Italian government, when Rome was annexed into the Kingdom of Italy.[1]

The pharmacy remained only a storeroom until 1892, when a permanent office was established to offer health care services to the pope, cardinals, and bishops of the Vatican.[1] In 1917, the pharmacy was moved to St. Anne's Gate, closer to the main entrance of the Vatican.[1] At the time, the Vatican pharmacy was immensely popular for offering medicines which were otherwise unobtainable within Rome.[1] Even today, due to the complicated bureaucratic drug approval process of the Italian government, the pharmacy often has medicines months to years before Italian pharmacies.[1]

After the Lateran treaties of 1929, the pharmacy was moved to its current location in Palazzo Belvedere, behind the Vatican central post office and across from the Vatican supermarket.[1] Unlike Italian pharmacies, the Vatican Pharmacy will fill foreign prescriptions.[3]

Eligibility

Non-Vatican employees must obtain a temporary pass from a special registry office, and have a prescription and ID to use the pharmacy.[1] The 10,000 members of the Vatican's private health care plan possess a permanent pass to use the pharmacy.[1]

As Vatican City has no taxes, the pharmacy is duty free.[1]

Stock

The pharmacy does not carry products which are contrary to Catholic social teaching, such as contraceptives or abortifacients.[1] Nor does the pharmacy carry sildenafil (Viagra)[4] or medical marijuana.[5] However, the pharmacy does carry "top-brand beauty-care products" and perfume.[1] Its prices for many items are between 12 to 25 percent lower than the prices of the same products in nearby Italian drug stores.[1]

The most requested product is "Hamolind", a remedy for hemorrhoids.[1] The most prescribed drug is Valium.[6]

References

  1. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r Glatz, Carol. 2008, May 23. "World's busiest pharmacy? Vatican drugstore offers cut-rate prices." Catholic News Service.
  2. ^ d'Onorio, Joël-Benoît. Levillain, Philippe (ed.). 2002. "Vatican City State" in The Papacy: An Encyclopedia. Routledge. ISBN 0415922283. p. 1591.
  3. ^ Ward, Travis. 2002. Living, Studying, and Working in Italy. Macmillan. ISBN 080507306X. p. 111.
  4. ^ NewsRX. 1998, October 26. "Vatican Pharmacy says no to Viagra."
  5. ^ CWNews. 2002, May 23. "No Medical Marijuana at Vatican Pharmacy."
  6. ^ Cornwell, John. 2004. The Pope In Winter. Viking. ISBN 0-670-91572-6. p. 158.

External links



Wikimedia Foundation. 2010.

Игры ⚽ Нужна курсовая?

Look at other dictionaries:

  • Vatican City — State[1] Stato della Città del Vaticano[2] …   Wikipedia

  • Vatican City — an independent state within the city of Rome, on the right bank of the Tiber. Established in 1929, it is ruled by the pope and includes St. Peter s Church and the Vatican, 1000; 109 acres (44 hectares). Italian, Città del Vaticano. * * * in full… …   Universalium

  • Outline of Vatican City — …   Wikipedia

  • List of pharmacies — This article is a list of major pharmacies (also known as chemists and drugstores) by country.Argentina*Farmacity *Dr. Ahorro *Farmacias del Dr. SimiAustraliaPharmacies in Australia are mostly independently owned by pharmacists, often operated as …   Wikipedia

  • Roman Question — The Roman Question was a political dispute between the Italian Government and the Papacy from 1861 to 1929.The Roman Question began when Rome was declared Capital of Italy on March 27, 1861, and ended with the Lateran Pacts between Mussolini s… …   Wikipedia

  • Brothers Hospitallers of St. John of God — The Brothers Hospitallers of St. John of God are a Roman Catholic order founded in 1572. They are also known commonly as the Fatebenefratelli, meaning Do Good Brothers in Italian.HistorySt. John of God, the founder of this religious institution,… …   Wikipedia

  • Emergency contraception — Background Birth control type Hormonal (progestin or others) or intra uterine First use 1970s Failure rates (per use) Perfect use ECP: see article text IUD: under 1% …   Wikipedia

  • ARGENTINA — ARGENTINA, South American Federal Republic, general population (2004) 39,150,000; Jewish population 190,000. This entry is arranged according to the following outline: colonial period modern period legal basis for jewish life history EARLY JEWISH …   Encyclopedia of Judaism

  • Duquesne University School of Law — Duquesne Law School Motto Salus Populi Suprema Lex The Welfare of the People is the Highest Law Established 1911 Type Private Catholic University …   Wikipedia

  • St. John's University (New York) — Infobox University name = motto = Educatio Christiana Animae Perfectio ( Christian Education Perfects the Soul ) established = 1870 endowment= $366.7 million [cite news | last = | first = | coauthors = | title =College and University Endowments… …   Wikipedia

Share the article and excerpts

Direct link
Do a right-click on the link above
and select “Copy Link”