The meeting of Formators and officials responsible for Vocations Promotion opened today, January 18, 2016, closing the year 2015 dedicated to the Hospitaller Vocation. The official closure will take place on January 20,the Feast of the Conversion of our Founder Saint John of God. Delegates from every Province in Order came to Rome and will be staying until January 22. The participants introduced themselves after dinner on the evening before, Sunday, January 17, at which the organisers asked each one to say in a few words what they expected to come out of the meeting.

Monday, January 18

The meeting was inaugurated with Mass, at which the Prior General, Brother Jesús Etayo, presided. The concelebrants were the Claretian, Fr Juan Carlos Martos, the Moderator of the meeting, and Fr Gian Carlo Lapic. The liturgical texts consisted of references to the vocation – the calling of the prophet Jeremiah, and Jesus’ call to the first disciples, “Come and see”. In his homily, the Prior General stressed this call of our Lord which should resound in our hearts and respond by taking on all the demands that the call brings with it. This is also the proposal we put to the candidates wishing to join our Hospitaller Family. It is above all a matter of responding with a life of faith, and the witness of our lives, corresponding to our vocation.

After Mass and following a short break, the morning continued with the keynote address by the Prior General, in which he reviewed the demands placed upon us by responding to our Lord’s calling, and also stressed the needs and demands of vocations promotion/pastoral care. He drew attention to the things which most harm the religious vocation: fatigue, boredom, sadness, discouragement and so on...

He said that we must love young people and welcome them, and understand the world in which they live, in order to understand them, too. We must not allow changes to paralyse us, but must take them on board, boldly and hopefully. Formators must remember that it is impossible to provide formation without accompaniment. We had to sound out the deepest motivations of the candidates, in order to find out about, and become acquainted with their journey, the change and the conversion that they have undergone in their life, in our evaluation. We had to recognise the values, the criteria and the principles guiding their lives and their choices, their relationships, their spiritual life, community life and the mission of hospitality.

Formators must be have solid evidence of the candidate’s vocation.

The Prior General concluded by asking what future we wanted for our Order, what type of Brothers, and what kind of mission we had to pursue for the future of our Order. But without witnesses, there would be no vocations.

His address was followed by a presentation in the SWOT format (weaknesses, opportunities, strengths and threats) of the state of Vocations Promotion and Formation in the Provinces.

January 20, the Memorial of the Conversion of Saint John of God, began with Mass celebrated by Brother Bro. Pascual Piles. The working session opened at 9 a.m. with a prayer led by Brother Francis from the Indian Province. Brother Benigno then took the floor and briefed the meeting on the purposes of the Commission, and on the work done in 2015 in the year dedicated to the Hospitaller Vocation.

Before breaking up for the group meetings, arranged on a regional basis, Brother Massimo Scribano introduced the Genzano Centre which belongs to the Order’s Rome Province, and which the participants visited in the afternoon for the official closure of Vocations Year. 

After the group meetings, the regions reported back in plenary on the work they had done during the year and on their future Vocations Promotion and Formation projects.

Before adjourning for the day, Brother Lukasz of the Polish Province gave details on the Young Hospitallers’ meeting that will be held in Poland on the eve of the 2016 WYD in Kraków.

In the afternoon, the participants went to Genzano where they were welcomed by the prior, Brother Benedetto, the other Brothers, the Co-workers and the guests of the centre. After the prior’s welcome address, they were told about the work of the centre and the activities performed by AfMAL; together with some of the guests in the centre, the visitors went to the recreation hall where they were offered a musical entertainment performed by Co-workers and volunteers in the centre. 

During the prayer vigil in honour of St John of God on the day we commemorate his conversion, we officially closed the Year of Vocations which – in the words of the Prior General – “is finished, but not over”, signifying that Vocations Promotion/Pastoral Care has to continue. To round off the evening, the participants were joined by the Brothers working in the centre for a fraternal supper.