“Roll up our sleeves and serve with competence”. This will be the focus of the Sovereign Military Order of Malta’s 30th International Hospitallers Conference, scheduled from 15 to 17 March in Krakow, Poland. A place chosen to stress closeness to the war-battered Ukrainian population and to underline the enormous humanitarian effort made by all the Order of Malta’s bodies, and especially those bordering Ukraine, to help refugees, the displaced and wounded. A choice that also pays tribute to the Polish people who have welcomed the thousands of Ukrainian refugees in their homes and in their schools, offering them health and social care.
As further proof of this closeness, Grand Master Fra’ John Dunlap will also travel to Krakow to express his gratitude and encouragement to the Hospitallers responsible for the Order of Malta’s humanitarian aid activities. Fra’ John Dunlap’s presence in Poland has also been acknowledged by the Polish President Andrzej Duda, who has invited the Grand Master for an official visit to express his gratitude for the Order’s numerous humanitarian activities in Poland.
The conference will be opened by the Grand Hospitaller, Fra’ Alessandro de Franciscis, in the presence of the Prelate of the Order of Malta, Msgr. Luis Manuel Cuña Ramos.
“The 30th Hospitaller Conference will bring together some 120 representatives from 35 countries. These numbers testify to the increasing global humanitarian engagement of the Order of Malta, a Catholic and lay order with a mission to aid the poor and the sick, and reflect its ability to intervene in crisis theatres, starting with Ukraine and the Holy Land,” explains Grand Hospitaller Fra’ Alessandro de Franciscis.
During the Hospitaller Conference, organized by the Order of Malta’s Polish Association, all the major humanitarian works worldwide will be studied, as well as issues of crucial importance for the social-health sector, such as protecting the vulnerable. “But we will also look to the future,” added Fra’ Alessandro de Franciscis, “with the approach of the 2025 Jubilee and the immense resources and volunteers we will be deploying. And since we will be in St. John Paul II’s homeland, there will also be shared moments to reflect on his spiritual heritage”.
Lasting three days, the conference will focus on three main issues: spirituality in the Order’s works; collaboration and coordination between the different entities in crisis situations; and, finally, the international, regional and national camps. The need to coordinate multinational aid activities – in very different crisis situations such as the conflicts in Ukraine and the Holy Land – is one of the key points that will be addressed during the meeting.
The conference will be preceded by the General Assembly of the Order of Malta’s International Relief Corps, Malteser International, and by the working meeting of the Order of Malta’s relief organizations in central and eastern Europe.
