In 2022 the Bavarian Province of the Order of St John of God is celebrating it 400 years’ presence in Bavaria. For this occasion, the Province has commissioned the production of a video tracing the highlights of the history of the Brothers of St John of God in Bavaria: from the foundation of the first

hospital in Neuburg in 1622 at the initiative of Duke Wolfgang von Pfalz-Neuburg (shown in the picture) to the upheavals of the Thirty Years' War, in which the Brothers of St John of God nursed the wounded and plague victims without distinguishing between friend and foe; from the foundation of St Maximilian's Hospital in Munich (1750) to the period of secularisation (1803) during which all the communities and centres were suppressed; from the Restoration in 1831 under King Ludwig I, to the establishment of the first centres for people with disabilities in 1860. 

Two World Wars marked the 20th century. Between the two wars, Blessed Brother Eustace Kugler succeeded in building a model hospital in Regensburg (1929) which soon became known as "the most modern hospital in Germany". But those years also brought tremendous suffering and loss to the Province: the deportation of the disabled by the Nazis, the Gestapo's persecution of the Provincial, Blessed Eustace Kugler, and the bombing of some of the centres by the Allies. After the Second World War, the Province was able to flourish again. Today, it has five large, state-of-the-art hospitals, a wide-ranging network of residential and day services for people with disabilities, two centres for the elderly, a large rehabilitation centre where Sebastian Kneipp's therapies are practised, a wide range of palliative medicine services, a conference centre and a mobile unit to provide medical care for the homeless in Munich. Today, this impressive work is being carried on by a group of 20 Brothers and over 10,000 co-workers.

In order to worthily celebrate its 400th anniversary, the Province -- pandemic permitting -- has organised a whole series of religious, cultural and social events during 2022. The crowning moments will be a Hospitality Congress from 1 to 3 June in Regensburg, and a meeting of Brothers from the Central European Provinces on 29 June (the first Brothers of the Province came from Vienna on 29 June 1622, sent by Fr Gabriele Conte of Ferrara, the first two Brothers arrived in Neuburg; the Brothers of St John of God Hospitals of Austria, the Czech Republic and Poland belonged to what was then the Vicariate of Vienna) and another major religious and cultural event on 11 November, on the very day, 400 years ago, when Duke Wolfgang Wilhelm signed the deed donating the property which was to become the first Brothers of St John of God Hospital in Bavaria. The Eucharist for this event will be celebrated by the Cardinal Archbishop of Munich, Reinhard Marx, while the lectio magistralis will be delivered by the Prime Minister of Bavaria, Markus Söder.

The video is accompanied by an English transcription of the original German commentary.

Video link:

400 Jahre Barmherzige Brüder in Bayern

https://vimeo.com/666084678/5f3d75b631

 extract:

https://vimeo.com/666080097/3a7140bfec