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Please note these upcoming events.
For a complete list, see the Calendar page.
- Official Press Release (PDF)
- Mar - Apr San Francisco Location
calendar (PDF)
- Winter 2008 Bay Area Auxiliary Newsletter
(PDF)
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This year’s “World Day of the Sick” took on a
special significance because of the 150th
anniversary of the apparition of Our Lady
to St. Bernadette at Lourdes. Over a thousand
people gathered at a celebration of the
anointing of the sick in Orange County
sponsored by our order. The Orange County Register
covered the event, and the article can be found here. Please visit our Lourdes
site for an update on this year's pilgrimage as well as information on the plenary
indulgence granted to pilgrims.
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On Thursday, February 7th, 2008, His Eminence
and Grand Master, Fra' Andrew Bertie
was called home to God. Fra' Bertie was
the 78th Grand Master of the Order of
Malta, and he devoted himself wholeheartedly
to leading our Order for the past twenty
years. His death was brought about by cancer-related
causes. Please pray for the repose of
his soul, and for the consolation of
his family and friends in their time
of loss.
An excellent tribute
to Fra' Bertie may be found here.
Official Press Release
(PDF)
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Our beloved chaplain, Father Egon Javor, has been called home to
God in his ninety-first year. Our President, Richard Madden, summarized
his wonderful life of dedication in these words:
“Father Egon
was a founding monk of Woodside Priory, and the founder of the
Woodside Priory School. Born in Hungary, Father Egon was
a recognized spiritual leader among people of Hungarian birth in
the greater Bay Area. He was a tireless worker in giving
assistance to Catholic Hungarian refugees and immigrants through
the years.
In the life of the
Western Association, Father Egon was a much sought-after spiritual
director. He also was the mentor for many knights and dames
as each prepared to make the Promise of Obedience.
He was a provisional
Chaplain of the Order from 1975 and then in 1987, he became a Magistral
Chaplain in 1987. In 1979, he received the Cross of Merit
and in the year 2000, he received the “Grand Cross pro
piis meritis al Merito Melitense” in recognition for
his outstanding spiritual leadership and the assistance he consistently
and continuously gave to the spiritual development of the Western
Association of the Order of Malta.
Last year, in recognition
of his ninetieth birthday, a scholarship fund was set up in his
honor to assist needful students at Woodside Priory School. During
his last year, he bore his infirmities with dignity and patience. When
he died on Sunday morning, many of the Benedictine monks of his
community were present with him.”
Please pray for the
repose of his soul.
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In early November, the leaders of over 30 national associations in the Americas met in Mexico City with most of the members of the Sovereign Council for four days of meetings, formal and informal, to address the challenges facing the Order of Malta in North and South America. Over 150 members of the Order attended the conference, which was hosted and organized by the Mexican Association. The Mexican Association provided a warm welcome and exemplified the tradition of hospitality of the Order over the centuries.
Attending
the Conference on behalf of the Western
Association were Richard Madden, President;
William Regan, Chancellor, and his wife,
Ann; Eugene Payne, Hospitaller, and his
wife, Linda; Thomas Condon, Executive Vice
President South, and his wife, Julie; Randy
DeVoto, Communications Committee Chairman,
and his wife, Marlene; and Michael Grace,
Membership Committee Chairman.
All
of the meetings took place at the Hotel
Intercontinental in Mexico City. Participants
also were invited to attend the Mass and
annual Investiture of the Mexican Association
at the Shrine of Our Lady of Guadalupe,
followed by a formal dinner at a private
club. Other field trips included a tour
of Order of Malta key charities in Mexico
City: a nursing home, a homeless shelter
and work training center for women and
children, and an elementary school for
boys. Each of these programs receives the
complete financial support and countless
service hours of the members and volunteers
of the Mexican Association to be successful.
The
Conference was organized into five working
groups: Selecting New Members, Formation
of New Members, the Promotion of Personal
Commitment of Existing Members, Joint
Activities in Latin America, and Diplomatic
Work. The working groups were developed
under the leadership of the Sovereign
Council and reflect the challenges in the
Americas, but especially in Latin America,
of encouraging faithful young Catholics
to become involved in the Order and of
appealing to older, existing members of
the Order to renew their commitment to participate in serving and praying within the Order. Each participant in the Conference was assigned to a working group and participated in a series of discussions over two days that led to a final report by each working group presented Sunday morning, the last day of the Conference. Jean-Pierre Mazery, the Grand Chancellor, endorsed the final reports of each of the working groups in his concluding address and urged each of the national associations to implement the suggestions being proposed, in accordance with local needs. The final reports of the working groups will be published later this year and will serve as strategic planning documents for all of the national associations in the New World over the next two years.
In
addition to the hours of study and meetings,
the Mexican Association provided venues
for many small groups to dine together
and renew friendships among members. Some
of us learned for the first time the proper
method of drinking tequila (sipped neat,
and at room temperature) and enjoying the
rich culture of Mexico. We learned from
the Conference that the Order of Malta
is still a work in progress, that we as
knights and dames are Christ's hands in
serving the poor and sick and in praying
to the Father, and that we as members are
most effective in serving the poor and
sick and in defending the Faith when we
work together.
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Inside the Vatican named its "Top
Ten Catholics" of 2007, among them
a remarkable member of our order. Here
is her story:
"I’m a ‘granny.’ I
have 11 grandchildren, and my family, made up of my nephews and
nieces and their children, in addition to my husband and myself
and our children, constitutes for me a fixed and important point
in my life. So this naturally limits the time that I can devote
to my other great interest, ecumenism, and the improvement of relations
between separated Christians. But I consider it my duty to place
myself at the service of the Church and thus of Christianity." These
few words give an insight into the character of another one of
our choices for "Person of the Year," the Italian noblewoman,
the Marquise Immacolata Solaro del Borgo, 77, a member of Rome’s
historically powerful Colonna family.
Immacolata’s
ancestors include princes and Popes, and
she is among our "Top
Ten" because of her commitment to building better relations
between the Catholic and Orthodox Churches,
divided since 1054 — now nearly 1,000 years.
>>
Full Story (PDF)
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On February 19th, Bishop Allen Vignoron of Oakland met with members
of our order for Mass and lunch. The new cathedral in Oakland is
nearing completion, and one element of the complex will be a clinic,
at which members of our order will assist.
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PHASE II –
Order of Malta Home Renovation Program in New Orleans,
Louisiana
September 2007-
April 2008
From
March 2005 to April 2006, over 250 members
of the Order of Malta from all across the
US participated in Phase I of the Order
of Malta Home Renovation Program in New
Orleans. Thanks to a successful partnership
with Rebuilding Together, Catholic Charities
of New Orleans and the New Orleans Marriott
our volunteers worked none different one-week
work sessions in Treme, Gentilly, and New
Orleans East. Sixteen families have moved
back in their homes as a result of the
great work done by our Order of Malta volunteers.
So successful was the program that we have
decided to extend it for six more sessions – Sept & Dec
2007 and Jan/Feb/March/April 2008.
The
exact work weeks are listed below, along
with all of the other information about
the program. One of the major differences
in Phase II will be the overall size and scope of the project. In Phase I our
volunteers were working on homes with major damage requiring extensive and
expensive repairs. Teams of 30-40 volunteers
would work all week, and the house would
still be weeks from completion. In Phase
II we will be working in houses that only
need a week’s worth of finishing work before the family can move back
in. We are only accepting 25 volunteers per week.
Our efforts will be concentrated in the Treme / Esplanade Ridge section of New
Orleans. Very near downtown / French Quarter, this entire neighborhood will positively
be re-built.
We
need six teams of volunteer workers, 20-25
per team, one team for each of the six
weeks listed below. Volunteers will arrive
on their own (usually) on Sunday afternoon,
and check into the New Orleans Marriott
( Canal Street). We work (usually) Monday – Thursday
from 8:00 AM – 4:00 PM. All three
meals will be provided, and there will
be a farewell party on the last night.
If
you can help, please contact Bill Regan
at the Malta Office (415) 788-4550.
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