Association President In this year’s President’s Report, His Excellency Dr Ian Marshall AM AE KC*SG KGCMG (Ob) highlights the accomplishments of the Australian Association of the Sovereign Order of Malta and those committed to the Order’s service nationally and abroad.
T
he historically momentous occasion for the Order of Malta in 2018 was the election in May of His Most Eminent Highness, the Prince and Grand Master, Frá Giacomo Dalla Torre del Tempio di Sanguinetto as the 80th Grand Master of the Order. It was my privilege to represent the Australian Association as one of the 15 Presidents of National Associations on this historic Council Complete of State, which met in the Palazzo Aventino in Rome on 2 May. The Election had been preceded in February by an equally seminal International Seminar to discuss constitutional reform. Here, 10 working groups over a period of three days intensely discussed a wide range of topics identified as essential to constitutional reform to give our Order a framework of rules to deal with the present and future. At the same time, the constitutional reform has to ensure that the traditions particularly of our religious institution are safeguarded, its charisma preserved, its identity protected, and its commitment to serve the poor and the sick guaranteed. Reforming does not mean overturning an institution that has 900 years of history. Our present Constitutional Charter has certainly many merits and some parts that have to be preserved. Another historical milestone in 2018 was the formation of an independent Hong Kong Association, the 48th National Association of the Order of Malta. I publicly record appreciation to HE Ambassador Confrere Jim Dominguez, as well as to HE Ambassador Confrere David Scarf and Past President Tony Macken, all of whom had a strong influence on the development of the nascent group as it progressed into the full independence that HMEH The Prince and Grand Master and Sovereign Council have bestowed on the Hong Kong members by Decree on 17 October 2018. I record here for posterity the warmest congratulations of all members of the Australian Association on the independence of the Hong Kong Association. We have no doubt the Hong Kong Association will have an influential role to play in the Order’s future affairs situated as it is in the portal to China. Transitional Council I take this opportunity to also publicly thank the members of the Transitional Council whose names are recorded elsewhere. The Council has worked cooperatively and harmoniously during the past 12 months to cover a lot of work, some routine, some not. This includes several important policy areas, such as safeguarding policies, now essential in the 21st century. Lourdes One of the great events in the international life of the Order is the annual pilgrimage to Lourdes. The Order can lay claim to a deep Marian devotion since the discovery of the Icon of the Virgin in a shrine on Mt Philermos on Rhodes, and venerated since the relief of the siege of Malta. It is unsurprising that the Annual Pilgrimage to Lourdes is now regarded as the major focus of the Order’s charitable 12
effort, certainly since World War II. The first official Pilgrimage took place in 1958 on the centenary of the Apparitions of Our Lady to Bernadette with 534 pilgrims with 69 malades. This year, on the 160th anniversary, there were well over 10 times those numbers. Australia and our associated members from the Asia Pacific region were equally well represented with 99 pilgrims under the Australian banner – this must be some sort of record – 53 from Hong Kong, 36 from Australia itself, one volunteer from Thailand, and for the first time, a strong contingent of nine pilgrims from Korea. At the risk of omitting many whose contributions ensured the success of the pilgrimage, I must record our thanks to Confrere Daniel Kwok, Delegate of Communications together with Consoeur Desirėe Jebsen, our Hospitaller in Hong Kong, in liaison with Confrere Brendan Lawlor, Hospitaller of the Irish Association for their time and effort. Lourdes Masses With the distances involved and the logistical difficulty of transporting our own malades to Lourdes, the Lourdes Masses held in the capital cities continue to grow in numbers and popularity. They are reported on in more detail elsewhere. 2018 Australian Hospitaller
