On Wednesday, February 25, the official ceremony was held at which the Hospitaller Order of St John of God was awarded the First European Citizen’s prize. The Order received this honour together with another 46 winners of the 2014 edition selected from among hundreds of candidates nominated by individuals or institutions from the 28 Member States of the European Union. The prize was accepted personally by the Superior General, Brother Jesús Etayo Arrondo, representing the Hospitaller Order, together with the General Councillor responsible for the Europe Region, Brother Rudolf Knopp, and the Director of the Order’s European Office, “Hospitality Europe”, Dr. Carlo Galasso.

The ceremony was held at the European Parliament in Brussels in the presence of the Vice President of the European Parliament, Sylvie Guillaume, and numerous distinguished members of the other European institutions. The Order’s delegation was accompanied by the MEP, Gabriel Mato, who had nominated the candidacy of the Hospitaller Order in the summer of 2014 at the height of one of the most critical moments in the spread of the Ebola epidemic in West Africa. The care delivered at that time to the people of Liberia and Sierra Leone bore a heavy price in terms of the loss of numerous members of the Hospitaller Family, including Brother Miguel Pajares and Brother Manuel Viejo, the only European citizens to have lost their lives to remain true to their commitment to combating the epidemic. By awarding this prize in Brussels, Europe intended to express its gratitude to the Order for its outstanding example of courage and solidarity in Africa.

During his stay in Brussels, the Superior General was able to visit the “Hospitality Europe” office, through which the Hospitaller Order interacts with the institutional bodies of the European Union to support the Provincial structures participating in Community projects being financed by the European Union.

On Thursday, February 26, Brother Jesús Etayo was received at the headquarters of COMECE, the office representing Europe’s Bishops’ Conferences in Brussels.

A very important meeting was also held at the office of the Spanish Permanent Representative to the European Union, at which the Superior General and Dr. Carlo Galasso met the Councillor for Health Care Policies - Francisco Sevilla Pérez - with whom they discussed both the European projects in which the Order’s structures are involved, and the efforts being deployed by the NGO Juan Ciudad to reopen the hospitals in Liberia and Sierra Leone.

The day ended with a cordial meeting with Fr José Ignacio Garcia SJ, the Director of the Jesuit European Social Centre, which is the Jesuits’ European office in Brussels.