On 26 June, 2020, Father Johannes Bauer of the famous Benedictine Ettal Monastery in Bavaria and Mr. Anton Speer, administrator of the Garmisch-Partenkirchen district, made a very substantial donation to the Brothers of St John of God - Fatebenefratelli Hospital on Tiber Island: a batch of protective face masks and a large quantity of disinfectant produced in their monastery in Bavaria. The Prior of Tiber Island, Brother Ángel López, welcomed the guests and the gift in the beautiful refectory of the Tiber Island Community.

The donation had been organised by Dr. Niklas Wagner, Head of the Policy Department of the German Embassy in Rome, whose two children were born in the Tiber Island hospital. The Embassy Councillor called this kind gesture “Germany’s small but meaningful contribution to Italy”, when it was seriously  stricken by the corona virus pandemic. Medicinal herbal liqueurs have been produced in the distillery of the Benedictine Monastery of Ettal for centuries. The monastery, founded on April 28, 1330 by Emperor Ludwig IV of Bavaria, also produces one of Germany's best-known beers, the "Benedektiner Weißbier". During the Covid-19 pandemic, another product has been added to the catalogue: since the end of March, the monastery has also been producing a disinfectant. And 800 litres of this product and 200 FFP2 face masks have been donated by the Bavarian delegation to the Tiber Island hospital.

The Brothers of St John of God thank you most sincerely!