Be Samaritans in times of pandemics

2 February 2021

To all the Brothers and Co-workers of the Order

Dear Brothers,

The 25th World Day of Consecrated Life will be celebrated on 2 February, the Feast of the Presentation of Our Lord. Because of the pandemic from which the world is suffering, Pope Francis will preside at the Eucharist in St. Peter's Basilica at 5.30 p.m. Rome time, with all the safety precautions in place, and therefore with only a small congregation, although it will be streamed live by Vatican TV. 

For this occasion, I would like to congratulate all the Brothers of the Order and all the consecrated men and women co-working on our mission as members of our St John of God Family. This Day gives us the opportunity to celebrate anew our Religious Consecration and to thank God for the gift of Religious consecration, in the spirit of St John of God, our Founder. Our I also send my very best wishes to all our Brothers who are commemorating the anniversary of their Religious profession on this day.

We recently sent you a letter from the Congregation for Institutes of Consecrated Life and Societies of Apostolic Life dated 18 January 2021, congratulating all consecrated men and women on Our Lord's call to follow Him in the Religious life and inviting us to live our vocation with joy and commitment, especially in times of pandemics. I would like to remind you of just a few brief words from this letter and invite you to read and meditate on it during these days:

“In the Encyclical Fratelli Tutti, Pope Francis invites us to act together, to bring about a rebirth in everyone "a universal aspiration to fraternity" (n. 8), to dream together (n. 9) so that "in the face of present-day attempts to eliminate or ignore others, we may prove capable of responding with a new vision of fraternity and social friendship..." (n. 6)….. Therefore, in light of this dream that is entrusted to our hands, to our passion, and to our perseverance, this coming 2 February will once again be a beautiful feast to praise and thank the Lord for the gift of our vocation and mission!”

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It has been quite a while since I last wrote to you about the pandemic, which, one year after its outbreak, is still battering the world and also the Order. We now have almost 100 million people infected and more than 2 million deaths. We are already in the third wave of contagion and all we can hope for at the moment is the arrival of the vaccines, although it will be months before they can reach the entire population. We join Pope Francis in voicing his concern so insistently, that the vaccines must reach everyone in every part of the world, without distinction.

As far as the Order is concerned, 131 Brothers have been infected since the beginning of the pandemic so far, and ten Brothers have died. As far as our Co-workers are concerned, we only have partial data, but several thousand have been infected, three of whom have died. Many thousands of people with Covid-19 have been treated in our Centres and, unfortunately, there have been many deaths.  It is true that our centres, and all our hospitals in general, have been better prepared in all respects for the second and third waves. But despite all this, the number of infections and deaths in the world continues to rise, according to the news that is reaching us and which you are all aware of.

The social, economic and spiritual problems are also rising, with a great deal of suffering, loneliness and uncertainty, and we find more and more people in greater need than ever, even of the most basic things. For this reason, as Hospitallers we have to be ready to accompany and stand close by the sick and those in need, especially those closest to us. Bear in mind, as I have been saying since the beginning of the pandemic, that our Order is in a charismatic emergency, therefore making it for all of us the hour of Hospitality. Let us be Samaritans to those who have been "left by the wayside" along the path of life, for they are our own brothers and sisters, and more than ever before, we are being called today to bring about the dream of the brotherhood and sisterhood of Man.

As for the life and work of the General Government, we are continuing to carry out most of our activities virtually, given the conditions and the risks posed by the pandemic, which generally discourage travel, especially intercontinental travel. Nevertheless, we are holding monthly General Definitories and many virtual meetings of the commissions and working groups organised by the General Curia. We are in permanent virtual or telephone contact with the Provincial Superiors and we are keeping fully briefed on the activities planned in the regions, normally through the Regional Councillors. We are still unable to carry out the General Canonical Visitations and we cannot predict when they are likely to be resumed, at least not until next September, if the pandemic allows it and the vaccinations reach the necessary level to guarantee the visits. For this reason, and if any changes have to be made regarding dates and content, we will let you know in good time.

One major event to which I would like to draw to your attention, and which most of you know about already, has been the Regional Assembly of Latin America and the Caribbean on 25 and 26 of January. It completed the unification of the Provinces and Delegations (including Brazil) of the whole region into one single Province. The St. John of God Province of Latin America and the Caribbean has now been canonically erected, covering the whole geographical Region, and the Provincial Definitory of the new Province has been appointed, with Brother Juan Carlos Tovar as the Provincial Superior.

Given the conditions of the pandemic, it was not possible to convene the meeting in Lima (Peru), where the Provincial Curia is located, but it was held partly in-person and partly remotely in Bogotá (Colombia). A group of Brothers and Co-workers were present at the Clínica Nuestra Señora de la Paz in Bogotá and a large group of Brothers and Co-workers participated in the Assembly by videoconference.

This has been a very important event for the whole Order, especially in view of the state of our Institute and its future. A long journey of discernment, study and reflection, fraternity and hospitality, guided by the Holy Spirit, has culminated in the erection of the new Province. We thank Our Lord for having accompanied us on this journey and all the Brothers and Co-workers who have made it possible.

The Assembly marked the end of a very important stage, but at the same time, the beginning of a new and equally crucial stage: now "the hour of truth" has arrived, to begin implementing everything that has been done. It is an opportunity for the Order, and specifically for the Family of St. John of God in Latin America and the Caribbean, to continue to give life to the Order's hospitality in this region, living faithfully to those who have gone before us on this mission, and to what the Holy Spirit is asking of us today. I urge the whole Family of the Order to pray for this "new creature" that has just been born, so that the Lord, Our Lady Virgin of Guadalupe, Saint John of God, Blessed Olallo and the Blessed Hospitaller Martyrs of Colombia, will always accompany and guide it, especially in these first steps forward, to enable all the Brothers and Co-workers to live through this new stage that is beginning for the Order in Latin America and the Caribbean with passion, joy, readiness and total dedication.

The Assembly for the amalgamation of the Spanish Provinces has been scheduled for 16 March. Due to the pandemic, we cannot yet confirm how it will be carried out, probably also in a hybrid form again.

I nevertheless believe that, in spite of the limitations mainly to do with the pandemic, it is a wonderful way to celebrate this year's 25th World Day for Consecrated Life, with the joy of the completing two projects that have been in preparation for years under the guidance of the Holy Spirit. May this encourage us all to strengthen and renew our vocation on the Feast of the Presentation of Jesus, which we celebrate on the Day of Consecrated Life, and, as I have said on other occasions, may all the Brothers of Saint John of God enlighten the world by bearing witness to Hospitality, as Saint John of God did!   

United in Our Lord and in Saint John of God, I send you my fraternal and hospitable best wishes!

Brother Jesús Etayo

Superior General