vaticannews.va
2026-06-26
On the centenary of the birth of Venerable Professor Jerome Lejeune, Pope Leo XIV received members of the Foundation that bears his name and continues his work.
In his address, the Pope recalled Lejeune as a pioneer of modern genetics, a physician devoted to the most vulnerable, and a tireless defender of life.
He urged members of the foundation to imitate his example and be "committed witnesses in society, at the service of the constant pursuit of the common good."
Professor Jerome Lejeune, who discovered the chromosomal abnormality responsible for trisomy 21, left a lasting mark on the history of modern medicine.
Regarded as one of the fathers of contemporary genetics, he dedicated his life to research and to the care of people with intellectual disabilities.
"Medicine," he liked to say, "is hatred of disease and love for the sick person," Pope Leo XIV recalled. That conviction, the Pope said, guided Lejeune's service to those he affectionately called "the poor among the poor."
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