If patients are to be cared for comprehensively and empathetically, the focus should not only be on symptoms and diagnoses. Just as important is what an illness means for people in hospital beds and how the new situation can be dealt with. The book is a plea to profile Christian hospital pastoral care as specialized spiritual care and to understand it anew in the context of the Christian healing mandate. Only in close cooperation with health professionals can it continue to fulfill its mandate and promote fair and humane health care.