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No 21. March 2017

IMPORTANT INFORMATION “The inauguration of this new centre in India commits us to joyfully live and witness our Hospitaller Vocation, at the service of the sick and needy”

Inauguration of the ‘Family Home Centre” in Trivandrum, India

The 27th of January 2017 was a mighty God for the gift of our tre’, is dedicated to the service of very lovely and special day for all charisma, as well as for the inau- our brothers and sisters with of the Hospitaller Community. It guration of the new centre. The mental illness in Trivandrum, was a day to give thanks to Al- centre, called ‘Family Home Cen- India.

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“The first missionary sisters, “Monsignor Soosaipakiam from , generously expressed his gratitude worked and work and appreciation for to sow and spread Hospitaller charisma and the charisma of hospitality our welfare activities for the in this country” sick and needy”

Two sisters of the General Government, Sister for those who attend the new centre. The relati- María Esther Berruete and Sister Andrea Calvo, and ves of the ill and locals who attended the event Superior and Second Councillor of the Delegation also shared this joy and happiness. of the Philippines, Sister Camino Agos and Sister Magnolia Billona, respectively, participated in the CONGRATULATIONS to our sisters and those who celebration. have made and make this work possible! With the strength of God and the solidarity of all, we keep Professed, temporary professed and postulant sis- praying so that this project can continue and ters from the two communities of our institution in spread for vulnerable people. India were also present. We highlighted Sister Jo- sefina Serrano, Trivandrum Superior; Sister María de las Mercedes; Sister Lourdes Morera; and Sister Pilar García, in charge of the group in Shillong. They are the first missionary sisters from Spain who ge- nerously worked and work to sow and spread the charisma of hospitality in this country, accompan- ying and shaping local vocations.

Gratitude for Hospitaller charisma The celebration was officiated by Bishop Soosaipa- kiam, of the Archdiocese of Trivandrum, together with 17 priests of the diocese, some belonging to religious congregations. The event was also atten- ded by nuns from seven women’s congregations.

The homily was a special moment for all the Sisters Hospitallers. During the homily, Monsignor Soosai- pakiam expressed his gratitude and appreciation for Hospitaller charisma and our welfare activities for the sick and needy. He also thanked God, the Holy Spirit, and our founders for having brought our charisma to their diocese.

The inauguration of this new centre in Trivandrum is a long-awaited project that commits us to joy- fully live and witness our Hospitaller Vocation, at the service of the sick and needy. In addition, it has been and is, a cause for joy and enthusiasm for the young candidates, people with mental illness and “Family Home Centre” Inauguration

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Sister Anabela Carneiro and Sister Andrea Calvo during the Canonical Visit

The Canonical Visit to the Portuguese Province generosity to bring hospitality to the most vulne- began last December with the attendance of seve- rable. ral sisters who are part of the General Government. They went to the different centres and communi- ‘The best gift that we can offer to anyone is our ties in the province. This visit lasted until the end time’. I recently understood the true meaning of of January and continues this March. this phrase, specifically last Christmas, when Sister Anabela Carneiro, Superior General, left us a mes- For all of the sisters and the Portuguese Hospitaller sage on which to reflect: ‘Live daily life giving the community, it has been a very gratifying time, of best of yourselves, trying to carry out the great cha- togetherness and motivation, to continue the lived llenge of doing good and doing it well’. Her words experience of our charisma and mission. We high- made me feel deep gratitude for belonging to this lighted the moments of reflection, as well as those great Hospitaller Family. dedicated to sharing with collaborators, the con- tact with the people assisted and meetings with the We are part of a privileged institution, where each Lay Hospitallers, some volunteers and the Mana- gesture of tenderness and respect is important. gement Board. We carry out wonderful and rewarding work and, although we are all different, we share the same Revive and recreate hospitality heart. All of these moments have been to deepen the spi- rit experienced by our founders, in order to recre- Our most sincere thanks to Sister Anabela Car- ate hospitality in this historical moment and in this neiro for these wonderful days in which her pre- geographical, social and cultural place in which we sence has enlightened our path. It has made us live. Clearly, the first expectation of the visit has feel that the greatest gift is to live as Jesus tells us: been achieved since our hospitable ties have been ‘To the extent that you did it to one of these bro- strengthened, better projecting, and more often, thers of Mine, even the least of them, you did it to our charisma and mission at the present moment Me’. Thank you for offering us a bit of your time, of the institution’s history. which will always remain in the heart of each one of us: collaborators, friends and volunteers. In addition, this visit has helped us to renew our Hospitaller commitment. We are very grateful to the General Government. It was gratifying to learn Judith Pimentel, about the experiences of each sister in service to Sisters Hospitallers collaborator in the Hospitaller mission of the congregation. Their

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INTERVIEW “Hospitality forces us to have our eyes open, to look and to address all the realities of the world”

Hospitality compels us to have outpatient clinic, focused on ta- our eyes open to all the realities king care of people with mental of the world. illness and with the aim of im- proving the patients’ socio-me- What actions do you carry out dical conditions. We also carry or plan to carry out in this out actions to inform, sensitise area during 2017? and train people in the area Each year at Aita Menni we ce- about Ebola disease, which af- lebrate ‘solidarity week’ with the fected the country so terribly a aim of encouraging the deve- few years ago. lopment of solidarity actions. During this week, open to all of In 2017, following the call from the Hospitaller community, we our Superior General, we will try carry out various awareness ac- to support the mental health tivities such as conventions, centre that Sisters Hospitallers round tables, film forums, etc. has recently inaugurated in We also promote actions to raise India. funds and support different pro- jects, either our own or from Going back to the campaign... other institutions. For example, How did the clothing drive in- a food drive, selling items made itiative for Syrian refugees by our users, etc. come about? Sister Montserrat Esparza and Every Christmas, we at the Re- Egoitz Zabala, Superior and The ‘solidarity week’ is usually in habilitation and Pastoral Service Solidarity Manager at the Sisters June, in memory of the eight sis- try show solidarity with a certain Hospitallers Aita Menni Hospital ters who passed away in 1885 as topic. This year, following the te- in Guipúzcoa (Spain), tell us a result of attending to the rrible migratory crisis in Europe,

Sister Montserrat Esparza and Egoitz Zabala about the “clothing drive needs of cholera victims. Thus, we felt it necessary to reach out campaign” they held last January the week is named María Jesús to the Syrian refugees, who are to help the Syrian refugees in Ibáñez, Superior General at the located in Greece after fleeing Greece. time. the war ravaging their country.

Before going straight into the On the other hand, for the past Through a familiar person and refugee aid campaign, what four years, we have been colla- some volunteers who have been importance do solidarity ac- borating with the Benedict able to collaborate in a refugee tions have for the hospital? Menni Health Center that our camp in the Hellenic country, They are very important for us, institution has in Monrovia (Li- we found out about the need we try to always be attentive and beria). This project arises from for clothes and footwear help to the best of our ability. the need to reopen the centre’s affecting them and we started

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working on it. Great work of our How was it and what were the re- sults obtained? ‘friends’ in England The clothing drive was carried out from 10 to 16 January, in the Aita Menni centres in Arrasate, Durango and Bil- bao.

The campaign was a success and our initial expectations were more than sa- tisfied. Many people, collectively and individually, worked on this initiative not only by providing clothing but also money.

Thanks to all of them, we managed to collect more than 18,000 kilos of clo- “Friends of Footherley Hall” in the new minibus thing and footwear and €1,610.

The selection process, to select appro- ‘Friends of Footherley Hall’ and ‘Friends of St. Augusti- priate clothing meeting the needs re- ne’s Home’, are two charitable organisations working quested by different refugee camps, with the English Province to improve the quality of life resulted in part of what was collected of our centres’ residents. not being considered ideal to send. Approximately 17.3% of the total has ‘Friends of Footherley Hall’ was founded in 1988 by the been set aside for Caritas so that it can relatives of residents of one of our centres located in be used by people who need it in Staffordshire (England). Currently, it has 106 members. Spain. ‘Friends of St. Augustine´s Home’ is much more recent. Its beginnings were in 2013, but it was not until April

It is especially important to mention English Province 2015 when its establishment was approved. It has got our centres’ workers, who dedicated 29 members and collaborates with our centre in Ad- half of their break time to help us. dlestone (England). Some ate in half an hour to have the other half free and to work on the cam- Both organisations were created with the intention of paign. After work, they also stayed with supporting the work of the Sisters Hospitallers and the us. Others recognised the financial workers of these centres. Some of their actions are: need involved in sending everything providing goods and services, doing recreational acti- that was collected to Greece and vities, outings, fitness training, etc., always with the sought help. We all have been invol- goal of improving the residents’ life. They also organise ved, each in his own way. fairs, raffles, etc. and part of the money that they co- llect goes to our centre in Liberia (Africa). What would you say to encourage everyone to participate in solidarity ‘What I like most about being a “friend” of the Sisters activities? Hospitallers is seeing that our elders receive the care One should not turn a deaf ear to the that they need and deserve. One of the most meaningful cry of those who need us most. Our moments for me was the collection of funds to buy a 15 hospitality must embrace all the cu- seat minibus with wheelchair access, thus making it pos- rrent realities and refugees are one of sible to shuttle residents’, says Barry Ulyatt, President of the groups who are in greatest need ‘Friends of Footherley Hall’. now.

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50th anniversary of the Sisters Hospitallers’ presence in Terceira Island

On 20 January, at the Holy Spirit Health Clinic (CSES, for its abbreviation in Portuguese), the ce- lebrations of the 50th anniversary of Hospitaller presence in Terceira Island (Portugal) began, with a solemn meeting in which posthumous tribute was paid to the centre’s first clinical director, Dr. Hélio Flores Brasil.

All of the representatives of official bodies who attended the event emphasised CSES’ significant contribution to promoting mental health on Ter- ceira Island and other islands in the Azores. They also stressed the need to continue investing re- Portuguese Province Portuguese sources in this field, and to keep working with our institution. 50th anniversary inaugural solemn meeting

Keep the doors open In addition, the Managing Director emphasised and their empowerment’. She recalled the time the importance of CSES ‘keeping its doors open when women with mental illness had no access to civil society’, as a strategy to ‘fight against the to medical treatment and emphasised the im- stigmatisation of people with mental illness’. portant role of the congregation and its founders in this regard. Lastly, Sister Sameiro Magalhaes, Provincial Su- perior of the Portuguese Province, described the Throughout 2017, CSES will continue celebrating history of the centre and stressed that ’this cele- its 50 years with a varied programme of events bration is also a celebration of women’s rights and activities that will end on 31 October.

“The experience in Dapaong changed our way of understanding life”

After a stay at our association ‘Vivre dans l’espé- rance’ (Live in hope) in Dapaong (Togo), two young students returned to feeling that something inside of themselves had changed.

After this experience, they decided to continue supporting the association’s activities from the Gaul country. One of their projects was organi- sing a concert in Paris, that took place in Decem- ber 2016. The event was a total success and all French Province of the proceeds have been donated to the asso- ciation.

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Hospitality without borders...

Sisters, users and collaborators of the Saint Benedict Menni Mental Health Network in Chile

In 2000, Sisters Hospitallers in- ment, is essential. These are the Services, arranged with the augurated the ‘Saint Benedict four pillars of the project. state, which is in charge of ap- Day Centre’ in the centre of proximately 80% of the services Santiago de Chile, without Types of care contracted by the Ministry of thinking this would be the spe- Outpatient: with two day cen- Health. The rest is covered by arhead of what is now the tres, ‘Saint Benedict Menni’ in municipal grants, donations and ‘Saint Benedict Mental Health Santiago Centro, with capacity agreements with universities to Network’ in Chile. for 32 users; and ‘Our Lady of do professional internships. the Sacred Heart of Jesus’, loca- In 2006, the ‘Saint Benedict ted in the commune of San Management and recognition

Saint Benedict Menni Mental Health Network Menni Protected Residence’ Ramón, with coverage for 40 The NETWORK is made up of 41 was born in the commune of users. direct collaborators, professio- La Granja, and with time, the nals and technicians, six sisters number of outpatient and re- Residential: it includes three and five collaborators in the sidential facilities started to protected residences, ‘Saint Be- management and administra- grow. nedict Menni’ and ‘Saint John of tion area. God’, located in the commune Currently, this NETWORK pro- of La Granja with a capacity of This resource bears a mark that vides outpatient and residen- 25 and 12 users respectively; distinguishes it from other insti- tial care to socially excluded and the ‘John Paul II’ Residence, tutions and acknowledges the people, over the age of 18, located in Santiago Centro with quality of the services provided, with mental illness. The inter- a capacity of 14 users. It also has continuous improvement and vention model is based on two protected homes: ‘Saint Jo- personalised care for the users. community psychiatry, specifi- seph’ with eight users and ‘Saint This accreditation has been cally on its psychosocial ap- Thérèse’ with four users. Both achieved thanks to the perma- proach, which is why the work homes are located in the La nent cultivation and care of of social workers, occupational Granja commune. Hospitaller values, combining therapists and psychologists, ‘science and charity’. as well as spiritual accompani- The users come from Health

7 25th World Day of the Sick

Eucharist in honour of the 25th World Day of the Sick in Quito, Ecuador

Welcoming and assisting sick people who are in need, whose dignity may be undermined and even challenged due to an illness and its consequences, for our identity, is evidence of the need to defend life and a witness of what hospitality means.

Under this premise, a Eucharist was held in honour of the 25th World Day of the Sick at the Our Lady of Guadalupe Clinic in Quito, Ecuador, on 10 February. An event in which the collaborators and relatives’ close relationship with our users could be renewed.

Important dates: March, April and May

n The Canonical Visit to the Portuguese Province continues, March 2017 n Hospitaller Committee of Africa Meeting (CHAF), March 2017 n 150th Anniversary anniversary of the arrival of St. Benedict Menni, our Founder, to (Spain), 6 April 2017 n Feast of Saint Benedict Menni, 24 April 2017 n 136th Anniversary of the foundation and Feast of Our Lady of the Sacred Heart of Jesus, 31 May 2017

For more information and contac: [email protected] www.hospitalarias.org