Following five days of deliberations by the Provincial Chapter and the announcement of the name of the Superior, a further milestone was reached this morning, with the appointments of the Provincial Councillors, thereby completing the composition of the government of the Spanish Province.

These are the Councillors who will be accompanying Brother Amador Fernández in his task of continuing to shape the Spanish Province of St John of God and implementing the strategic guidelines that will adopted at the end of Chapter.

These are the five elected Brothers:

1st Provincial Councillor: Bro. José Luis Fonseca Bravo (1951), Pamplona, Navarra.

He made his solemn profession in 1979, graduated in Psychology and was awarded a Master's degree in Bioethics, and has undergone training in hospital management and administration. He has served as Provincial Councillor of the Spanish Province of San Juan de Dios, Provincial Superior of the Province of Aragon, Community Superior and Brothers' Formator, among other posts held.

2nd Provincial Councillor: Bro. José Antonio Soria Craus (1963) Mohedas de la Jara, Toledo.  

He made his solemn profession in 1989 and holds a Nursing Diploma, and has studied Tropical Medicine. He has served the Order as Superior and Provincial Councillor of the Province of Andalusia, Superior of the Seville Hospital, and Manager and Superior of the San Juan de Dios Home. During his time in Africa, he was a Councillor of the African Province, Superior/Manager in Monrovia, Liberia, and Superior Manager in Batibo, Cameroon.

3rd Provincial Councillor: Bro. José María Bermejo de Frutos. (1955) Fuentesoto, Segovia.

He made his solemn profession in 1981, and graduated in Theology, holds a Nursing Diploma, a f degree in Ecclesiastical Studies, a degree in Philosophy and Educational Sciences, and a Master's degree in Bioethics. In the Order he has served as Provincial Superior of the Province of Castile.

4th Provincial Councillor: Bro. Moisés Martín Boscá (1957), Alaquás, Valencia.

He made his solemn profession in 1984, holds a Diploma in Biblical Sciences, is a social worker and holds a Master's degree in International Cooperation. Among other posts, he has served as Provincial Councillor of the Spanish Province of St John of God, Provincial Councillor of the Province of Aragon, Director of Juan Ciudad ONGD, Director of the Missions and International Cooperation Office, and as a member of the Team of the Superior General's Delegate.

5th Provincial Councillor: Calixto Andrés Plumed Moreno (1948) Torrijo del Campo, Teruel.

He made his solemn profession in 1973, and holds a Doctorate in Psychology and a Diploma in Nursing. He has served the Order as Councillor Delegate, Provincial Councillor of the Province of Andalusia and Superior and Vice-Superior of a number of centres.

The Provincial Superior and his Councillors jointly comprise the Provincial Definitory, which is the supreme organ of Government and represents the Province, tasked with implementing the general directives and common guidelines to be applied throughout the Province, supported by the Order’s other organs of Government also composed of Brothers and Co-workers. 

The Provincial Chapter on 5 May 2022 re-elected the new Superior of the Province: Brother Amador FERNÁNDEZ

The 1st Provincial Chapter of the Spanish Province of St John of God opened today, 2 May, in the Fray Luis de León Congress Centre, with words of welcome from the Superior General, Brother Jesús Etayo.

This Chapter, which has taken on a special significance as the first Spanish Provincial Chapter, is being celebrated under the theme " Go out with passion to promote Hospitality", which, according to Brother Etayo, is very much in keeping with the significance of this Chapter, as "an event of the Holy Spirit, a time to renew our strength, to continue to be builders of the future, of the future of Hospitality".

Brother Etayo began his address by reading a letter from Brother José Luis Redrado, a Bishop of the Order, urging the Capitulars to discern "the Hospitality which has to be put into practice". He then called to mind the victims of the Covid-19 pandemic and the 12 Brothers who had died from the virus. He also remembered the victims of the war in Ukraine and of "all the senseless wars anywhere in the world".  On the other hand, he encouraged the Brothers and Co-workers of the Hospitaller Family to approach this Chapter "as a new beginning which is offering a global project for the whole Province", and urged them to "follow in the footsteps of St John of God and the first Brothers, for we are living through difficult times and we are being called to journey together".

The Provincial Superior, Brother Amador Fernández, then took the floor to deliver the Report on the Hospitality Area, reviewing the activities that had been organised, and the establishment of operational facilities in this first year in the history of the Spanish Province of St John of God. Brother Amador pointed out that they would now have time to make adjustments and fine-tune the approach of the Spanish Province, but he also emphasised that "while the model of the Province needs to be further refined, it is also a change of mentality that is being required on the part of everyone".

For his part, the General Manager, Juan José Afonso, appealed for generosity and loyalty to the common project, for strength in the face of discouragement, and for everyone's commitment, because it had been a full year since they had embarked on building "a common home, building on what unites us, but also on our differences", and all this was taking place at a time when the world was in a highly complex situation, taking account of the present situation caused by global conflicts, climate change, population ageing, the aftermath of the pandemic, and so on. "The Order has weathered complex times in the past, and has survived and moved forward to continue doing what we do best: caring for others".

The Chapter is being moderated by Sister Lourdes Fernández, a Sacred Hearts Sister. Brother Jesús Pineda has been appointed Chapter Secretary, and the tellers, as required by the rules, are the oldest and the youngest Brothers, in this case, Brother Adriano Yugueros and Brother Luis Marzo, respectively.