“Peace, I leave with you; my peace I give to you” (Jn 14:27)

To the entire Hospitaller Family of Saint John of God

Dearly beloved,

The celebration of Holy Easter brings us back to the very heart of the mystery of our faith; indeed, it invites us to enter and participate, here and now, in the Lord’s resurrection and His glorious destiny. For us, of the Hospitaller Family of Saint John of God, celebrating Holy Easter means returning to the heart of the charism of John of God, a Paschal charism that opens us to hospitality in its most authentic form being reborn to a new life.

I like to think that all those who enter our apostolic works or our communities, and who draw near to us seeking care or help, may experience the goodness and beauty of the paschal charism that has been given to us: a charism expressed in the many shades of God’s love for humanity.

On Easter Day the liturgy calls us to sing: Mors et vita duello conflixere mirando: dux vitae mortuus, regnat vivus. Death and life contended in a wondrous duel: the Lord of life, who died, reigns alive. The Risen Lord has opened the doors of eternal life for us; He has conquered evil. By His resurrection, the Lord has inaugurated a new time that enlightens our lives as Christians and has opened for us a new path that directs our existence toward the eternal goal. The Father’s love for humanity raised Christ from the dead, and it is precisely in love that we are called to walk, because only when moved by true love will we be able to travel new paths for a renewed hospitality.

Saint Augustine made love the center of his thought. He writes that it is love that sets the soul in motion; it is love that gives it strength and life, leading it to its “natural place”: My weight is my love; by it I am carried wherever I am carried (Confessions, XIII, 9).

I am convinced that this Augustinian experience is the same that called John of God to new life, as he passed from the experience of sin to the gift of grace, becoming a new man and being clothed with the gift of hospitality.

Dear friends, as children and brothers of John of God, we desire to follow in the footsteps left by our Saint, who shows us the sure path to renew hospitality through listening to the Word of God, which always inspires thoughts of new life.

In this regard, a reflection of Pope Leo XIV is illuminating: what the Church ardently desires is that the Word of God may reach each of its members and nourish their journey of faith. Yet the Word of God also urges the Church beyond itself, continually opening it to mission toward all. Indeed, we live surrounded by many words, but how many of them are empty? Sometimes we even hear wise words that nevertheless do not touch our ultimate destiny. The Word of God, instead, satisfies our thirst for meaning and for truth about our lives. It is the only Word that is always new: in revealing the mystery of God, it is inexhaustible and never ceases to offer its riches (General Audience, February 11, 2026).

God never ceases to offer us His riches, and among these riches we cannot ignore what He is asking of us today, so that every act of hospitality may be nothing other than a proclamation of the Gospel, and that every word of hospitality may correspond to a gesture of love that points toward the Kingdom of God. Our hospitaller tradition teaches us that hospitality has never been reduced to a concept nor solidified into repetitive gestures; rather, it has always evolved into new forms, adapting to the needs of the times and of people, because our mission is to proclaim the Kingdom of God among the poor and the sick.

To move forward means to leave the tomb, to leave behind environments that once seemed to give us stability, but which in many cases have become tombs where there is no longer life, where there has been no resurrection. The Risen Jesus calls us to step out of our securities and to open ourselves to listening to His Word, which always creates something new.

Dearly beloved, we are called to listen to the Spirit of the Risen One, to ground our lives in the event of the resurrection; Christ has risen and returned to life quietly, without spectacular gestures, but by making Himself present to His disciples, accompanying them on the road to Emmaus and helping them to understand the Scriptures. I believe our mission must take on this style, where our presence is more meaningful for the lives of the poor and the sick, rather than being like weathervanes that make a lot of noise without making a real evangelical and social contribution. Our mission requires a great deal of energy, which we gladly expend, but we want it to be an expression of a life that is authentically evangelical. As the Prophet wrote: Why do you spend your money for what is not bread, and your labour for what does not satisfy? (Is 55:2). Let us invest our resources in the Kingdom of God; only in this way can we be certain of being accompanied by the Risen One who walks with us along the paths of Hospitality.

To all, I extend my wishes for a Holy Easter, and may you experience in your lives the light and peace given by the Risen One to all who welcome Him.

Happy Easter 2026!

Bro. Pascal Ahodegnon, O.H.

General Superior