2015 opened under good auspices for Hospitality Europe, the Order’s and the Sisters Hospitallers’ representative office to the European Union in Brussels. In the past few weeks a partnership agreement was concluded between Hospitality Europe, as a not-for-profit agency through which the European office operates, and the Ecclesia insurance group, headquartered at Detmold (Germany).

Ecclesia Insurance is the main insurer of religious entities and institutions not only in Germany but elsewhere in Europe. It has been trading on the insurance market for over 50 years and currently manages a portfolio of clients including 50% of the hospitals in Germany (public and private), had 77% of the religious hospitals. In other countries, like Belgium, the company insures about 80% of all the Catholic schools. The partnership will cover a two-year period (2015-2016) and will be of mutual benefit to both parties. Hospitality Europe will offer Ecclesia an opportunity for more visibility and to promote its services by mentioning the partnership in its media (website, newsletter two, fact sheets). It can also help the company to contact entities belonging to the Provinces of the Order and of the Sisters Hospitallers in Europe that might be potentially interested in finding out more about, and possibly use, the insurance services provided by Ecclesia. A few representatives of the insurance company will be invited to take part in a working meeting in Rome with the reference persons of the European Provinces during the course of 2015.

In exchange for this possibility, Ecclesia will make an annual €20,000 financial contribution to the Hospitality Europe Association (totalling 40,000 over the next two years), to be used to supplement the resources of our Brussels European office.

Bro. Rudolf, President of Hospitality Europe, has said that he is happy with the conclusion of the partnership agreement, because the initiative fits in perfectly with the lines of action adopted at the last General Chapter of the Hospitaller Order, namely, to promote and foster cooperation between the Provinces, by pooling the procurement of goods and services.