Grand Master thanks volunteers in Rome

Following the success last year, the Order of Malta’s National Day in Italy was repeated on 12 October. In this second edition, members and volunteers were present are 22 Italian squares to illustrate the Order of Malta’s numerous humanitarian and welfare activities in Italy and worldwide with the aim of creating an ever greater network of solidarity.

Grand Master Fra’ Giacomo Dalla Torre del Tempio di Sanguinetto visited the tent erected in Piazza San Lorenzo in Lucina in central Rome. He was received by the heads of the Grand Priory of Rome, the Association of Italian Knights, the Military Corps and by leaders of the Order of Malta’s Italian Relief Corps for the city of Rome. The Grand Master praised the initiative and greeted the volunteers present one by one.

In the stands set up in the squares the volunteers distributed informative material and answered questions about the mission of the Order, which has been serving others for 900 years. In addition, this year it was also possible to have free blood-pressure and blood-sugar tests and to learn how to use the defibrillator and practice resuscitation.

The Italian local and national media devoted ample coverage to the Order of Malta’s national day and its numerous health and social care initiatives. These include group homes and soup kitchens, the distribution of hot meals and clothing, looking after the sick in hospitals or during the national and international pilgrimages, sea rescue for migrants, summer camps for the disabled young and after-school programmes for socially excluded children. Actions for the homeless are increasing, especially in the big cities, with volunteers offering assistance at night and medical exams organized through street units.