Abstract:
This thesis aims to define biblical and theological references in order to extend the pastoral
care practical skills in an adult Intensive Care Unit, more precisely in an inpatient unit
dedicated to patients in critical health conditions. In this context, human frailty represents a
great challenge to theology and, in a particular way, to pastoral theology. Among these
theological references, both the theological dimension of the divine solidarity in the midst of
the human suffering and the theological dimension of the grace and of the passion revealed in
the person of Jesus Christ are emphasized, which underpin both the perspective of the human
resistance and of the human submission against the reality of death. Based on the contents
achieved, the research aims to map the skills of the pastoral agent when with the patient (and
with family members), which will guide the visiting practice in an ecumenical perspective, the
establishment of an effective communication, the sensitive and responsible testimony of the
Word of God, the use of prayer and religious rituals and of an appropriate interaction with the
care team.
