78 Brothers of the Hospitaller Order of Saint John of God have gathered in Rome for their 69th General Chapter, from 14 January to 5 February 2019. It will be a time for prayer, discernment and reflection to “discover what the Holy Spirit wants of us”.

A General Chapter is convoked every six years, to bring together Brothers representing all the Provinces of the Hospitaller Order in 54 countries, with about 1000 Brothers and 60,000 Co-workers who are at the service of over 1 million vulnerable people. Over the next four weeks, this gathering will take stock of the progress made during the term of the outgoing Superior General and Council, and reflect on the action plan for the six-year term for which a new Superior General and Council will be elected.

In order to mark the importance of experiencing this Chapter as a true period of spiritual exercises, the Capitulars began with a day of recollection on 14 January, before the formal opening tomorrow. “We want to make this Chapter a true period of spiritual exercises,” said the Superior General, Brother Jesús Etayo. In his introduction to this first day, animated by the Jesuit priest, Fr John Dardis, Brother Jesús stressed that, “we want this General Chapter to be above all a spiritual event in which we intend to leave everything to the Holy Spirit”. “The Holy Spirit is the main player in this Chapter which must not be seen as just another Congress, a corporate seminar, or a group set up only to work out a strategic plan. The purpose of this Chapter is to be a time in which to listen to the Holy Spirit. May we have the capacity and the strength we need to listen to Him, in order to discern what He wants of us.”

The Hospitaller Brothers of Saint John of God coming from every corner of the world will meet both in plenary session and in language groups, to address the theme adopted for this General Chapter:“Shaping the future of Hospitality” within the Hospitaller Order.