We celebrate, with joy and gratitude to the Lord, the feast of Saint John of God. Our Founder was a model of hospitality for all, especially those who benefited from his charity. His life was a model and an inspiration for the religious, his spiritual children, and for all people of every class and social class of that time, but also of our own time. He lived in very difficult times in which, in addition to poverty and misery, which were the common conditions for most people, there were various conflicts and severe social inequalities. We have confirmation of all this from history, from the testimonies about him, and from the biographies that have survived. Starting from this premise, I would like to attempt to say something about the choices of John of God.
The times of St. John of God were difficult, just as ours are in this time. What St. Augustine says in one of his Discourses is very enlightening : “These are bad times, painful times!” he says. But let us try to live well and the times will be good.” (80,8). This expression, so true and profound, sheds light on the radical and prophetic choices of John of God. He lived in a time that was anything but better than ours; precisely for this reason, his experience of hospitality, born from direct contact with human suffering and supported by a profound faith in God, made him capable not only of radically embodying Christian values, but also of giving a new face to the era in which he was called to live for Christ, united with Christ and totally in Him.
With his expression, St. Augustine helps us understand the path John of God followed to make his small contribution to building a more humane, evangelical, and just world. St. Augustine affirms that the improvement of temporal conditions depends not only on the external context, but also on the behavior and actions of individuals. ” Let us live well” is an invitation to live with ethical principles, integrity, and mutual respect. It is a call to action to change the way we relate to each other and to the world. Furthermore, by saying ” the times will be good, ” he clearly means that “we are the times.” This final statement is particularly powerful; it emphasizes that the “times” are not abstract entities, but are the result of people’s choices and actions. Each individual has a role in determining the quality of the present time. If people live well, they contribute to creating a better environment for all.
Dear friends, I have recalled these expressions of St. Augustine to invite us to look within ourselves and recognize the human, spiritual, and “charismatic” resources we possess to shape our reality. The time of “crisis” we are experiencing demands a great effort of change; it is easy to fall into the temptation to attribute blame to external factors. We must remember that it is we, with our daily actions, who shape the world we live in. Living well, promoting values of justice, respect, quality, empathy, spirituality, and social responsibility are actions that can positively influence society and the reality in which we are called to operate.
During the meeting with the Provincial Superiors last October, I recalled that we live in a rapidly changing and often disoriented world, and that our Hospitaller Order is called to remain a living sign of God’s mercy: an open home where everyone, regardless of their wounds or fragility, can find welcome, a listening ear, and comfort. The radical changes sweeping our societies, be they political, economic, environmental, cultural, or spiritual, could discourage us or push us into self-absorption. Yet, it is precisely in these uncertain times that our vocation to hospitality takes on its full meaning. Expanding hospitality means choosing to love again, to believe again, to hope again. It means refusing to let fear, weariness, or resignation have the last word.
Saint John of God teaches us a hospitality of the heart: one that begins by looking at others as brothers and sisters. Here lies the first miracle: recognizing in every person, whether sick, poor, exiled, co-worker, elderly brother or young person in formation, the face of Christ, suffering and loving. It is this interior attitude, made of humility and respect, that underpins our way of being in the world, to be a presence of hope.
Today, we live in contexts that are vastly diverse in culture and religion. Many challenges await us. Saint John of God taught us to experience every context as an opportunity given to us by God to heal and evangelize, or rather, to evangelize by healing. The charism of Saint John of God arose from the Gospel of Mercy; precisely for this reason, we cannot abandon our mission even in the most resistant environments. We need to discover the potential of our charism to respond to the challenges of our time. We feel the need for serious discernment to avoid the risk of a purely horizontal approach to hospitality, which could obscure the dimension of grace that lives in the gift of Hospitality. The structures may disappear, but not the holiness of the charism that made them flourish. True attachment is not to the place, but to the charismatic life lived there. When the charism is fully lived as a fire of charity, it can be transmitted elsewhere in new forms, new spaces, and new opportunities.
In this regard I would like to recall a concrete example of evangelization by our Father John of God. Witnesses tell that one day, John of God entered the Albayzín (Arab quarter) of Granada; many Moors gathered around him, who said to him: “ Tell us, good man, what miracles did your Christ perform? And the man of God replied: It is not a small miracle, but a great one that I have not yet become upset with you, and that I have not lost patience because Christ my Lord commands me to do so, while you treat me so badly, and say so many insults to me ” [1] . This very significant story urges us to live our presence where we are called to live Hospitality as credible witnesses of the message we announce with our mission.
Each of us is called to live our time in a place, to make our lives a time given with love, so that the newness we want to create is God’s time in which his Kingdom can continue to be present by caring for the sick, assisting the poor, including the marginalized, and sharing the joys and sufferings of humanity.
With this letter I wish to recall that this year marks the anniversary of the proclamation of Saint John of God and Saint Camillus de Lellis as Heavenly Patrons of Hospitals and the Sick. On May 27, 1886, the Sacred Congregation of Rites promulgated the Decree Inter omnigenas virtutes , recognizing their special patronage, and on June 22, 1886, Pope Leo XIII, with his supreme apostolic authority, solemnly sanctioned the proclamation with the Brief Dives in misericordia.
One hundred and forty years have passed since this historic event, which we wish to commemorate not only as an historical event, but also to revitalize our lives as people dedicated to hospitality, knowing that only the Holy Spirit can maintain the freshness and authenticity of our charismatic beginnings and instill the courage, resourcefulness, and inventiveness to respond to the signs of the times.
As I do every year, I take this opportunity to inform the entire Hospitaller Family about the results of the 2025 Campaign dedicated to “Home care and support for people fleeing the war in Drohobych (Ukraine).” The efforts of all the Provinces of the Order, united in condemning the horrors of war, which unfortunately continue, and united in their desire to support the brothers, volunteers, and lay people who have tirelessly sought and continue to seek to give hope to the many who suffer physically and psychologically, have allowed us to raise €307,212. Thank you for your generosity and sensitivity.
This year, 2026, the Annual Solidarity Campaign will focus on the Americas, with a project aimed at ” Improving Access to and Quality of Mental Health Care in Honduras .” This project is fully in line with the Six-Year Declarations, in which I called upon the entire Order to “strengthen mental health care, especially in the community, and to be prepared and available to respond to new health and social needs.”
We invoke the intercession of Saint John of God and our elder brother Saint Raphael the Archangel to help us live with renewed fidelity the mission entrusted to us as the Family of Saint John of God.
My cordial and fraternal greetings go out to all; may you experience and celebrate the feast of Saint John of God as an opportunity to rekindle the gift of hospitality that we have freely received.
Brother Pascal Ahodegnon, OH
Superior General