Activity Report 2010 - Sovereign Military Order of Malta in the United ...

Message from the Grand Master
A
s we face a world where economic
distress is a fact of life, the plight
of those who suffer – the poor, the
sick, the homeless, internally
displaced persons, refugees, the
disabled, the elderly – becomes
ever more acute. We, members of a religious lay
Order with a 900-year old tradition of caring for the
poor and the sick, are crucially aware of the need
to look to our fellow man. This has always been
our mission, and it remains our mission and our
focus today.
From our founding in Jerusalem, the Order has
concentrated on helping those who suffer. And in
the twenty-first century, every hour of every day in
over 120 countries, Order members, staff and
volunteers work in our hospitals, hospices, day
care centres and schools. It is a work that never
ends, and a vocation that we are proud to carry out.
There have been great changes in the world
situation and in that of the Order of Malta.
Our beloved Grand Master Fra’ Andrew Bertie died
in February 2008, leaving us to mourn his passing
but also to celebrate his legacy, in the great developments
he oversaw in the Order during his twenty
years at its helm. We have devoted a section of this
publication to his memory and his works.
As his successor, I am resolved to continue along
the same path, and to strengthen vocations to a
dedicated religious life within the Order, whilst
applauding and encouraging our charitable works
around the globe.
Over recent months we have organised a number
of international conferences, examining how the
range of humanitarian and care activities of the
Order will proceed in the twenty-first century.
We are also verifying that its spiritual life is
constantly renewed through its pilgrimages with
the sick – especially the May journey to Lourdes,
but in all the pilgrimages our members make,
some of which are shown in this Report.
I bring to your attention a selection of projects we
undertake in the five continents, particularly those
in the ‘focus’ section. They give a very human
perspective to some of the things we do: in the
Lebanon, the Order runs ten health care centres;
in Cameroon, Congo and Kenya, through our relief
service, Malteser International, we help AIDS
victims, those suffering from tubercolosis,
the internally displaced, and the very poor.
In Burma/Myanmar our relief service was one of
the few outside help providers permitted by the
government after Cyclone Nargis hit the country.
Recently, we went to the aid of victims of the
earthquake in Sumatra and typhoon Ketsana in
Vietnam.
In Europe, the Italian Association’s medical
emergency corps work with the country’s Coast
Guard to aid the hundreds of immigrants who pack
into tiny boats from North Africa to Lampedusa,
risking life and limb in search of a better future.
We continue to support the local population of
another serious earthquake, in the Abruzzo area
of Italy and, most recently, the victims of the 2010
earthquakes in Haiti and in Chile.
This publication also includes sections on the
activities of the Order’s government and the
special activities in our Library and Archives in the
Grand Magistry. I hope you will find a better understanding
of the Order of Malta and its life and
works around the world through these pages.
Fra’ Matthew Festing
79th Grand Master of the Sovereign Military Hospitaller Order of St. John of Jerusalem of Rhodes and of Malta
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SOVEREIGN MILITARY HOSPITALLER ORDER OF ST. JOHN OF JERUSALEM OF RHODES AND OF MALTA