The Order of Malta celebrates its founder Fra’ Gerardo, 900 years after his death
In Scala celebrations in the presence of the Interim Lieutenant, Cardinal Becciu and the Italian Minister of Health Speranza
On 3 September 1120, Blessed Fra ‘Gerardo, founder of the Order of St. John of Jerusalem, died in Jerusalem. On 3 September 2020, Order of Malta members and volunteers across five continents will celebrate this important anniversary.
The Interim Lieutenant, Fra’ Ruy Gonçalo do Valle Peixoto de Villas Boas will be on the 3 September in Scala, on the Amalfi coast, together with a delegation made up of the Sovereign Council and over the Order of Malta members and volunteers from all over Italy. Here, in full compliance with the current legislation for the containment of the Covid-19 epidemic, he will participate in the celebrations organised in honour of Blessed Gerardo by the town that many historians indicate to be his birthplace.
Fra’ Ruy Gonçalo do Valle Peixoto de Villas Boas, in the introduction to the special issue dedicated to the figure of the founder of the Order of Malta from the magazine San Francesco, summarised his importance as follows: “Blessed Gerardo drew the guidelines for Order founded by him, which along these lines has crossed the centuries “.
The solemn Eucharistic celebration presided by the Pope’s Special Delegate to the Sovereign Order of Malta, Cardinal Angelo Becciu, will be held on 3 September at 10.00, in the Cathedral of San Lorenzo in Scala. The celebration will be broadcast live on TV2000.
The Minister of Health, Roberto Speranza, will be present on behalf of the Italian government. The president of the Campania Region, Vincenzo De Luca and the mayor of Scala, Luigi Mansi will also participate.
The celebrations will continue on the afternoon of September 3 with official speeches and the presentation of the series of celebratory stamps dedicated by the Italian Post Office to Blessed Gerardo. Following a concert by the famous violinist Uto Ughi.
Blessed Fra’ Gerardo
The physical and spiritual suffering of the pilgrims who arrived in the Holy Land between the end of the eleventh and the beginning of the twelfth century, after a long and dangerous journey, was the reason that prompted Blessed Gerardo and his brothers to consecrate one’s life to the service of the most needy.
Gerardo was gifted with an extraordinary organisational capacity: he was the head of the hospital built by the Amalfi people in Jerusalem in honour of St. John the Baptist; he managed the organisation, reception, food and religious assistance; he took care of the sick and destitute; he was, as they already called him, “the Lord of the sick”. The rulers of Jerusalem, Portugal, Castile and Leon, other princes and bishops helped Gerardo with important donations. In just a few years, the hospitals and admissions in Italy and in southern France gave a European dimension and important resources to the Order he founded.
On 15 February 1113 Pope Paschal II recognised Gerardo and the institution he founded. He places the Order of the Hospitallers of St. John of Jerusalem under the protection of the Church, transforming it into a religious order. It recognises the right to ensure the continuation of his work without civil or religious interference by electing, in due course, the successor of Fra’ Gerardo.
Recognised Blessed by the Catholic Church, the example of Fra’ Gerardo has inspired for over nine centuries the members and volunteers of the Order of Malta who will remember him with devotion on the 3 September.
