s we go to press, wehave received wordfrom Rome that Frà

John T. Dunlap, Regent of theSub-Priory of Our Lady ofLourdes, and Co-Hospitaler of the NYC Area, has beenelected to the Order of Malta’sSovereign Council (theGovernment of the Order).Our warmest congratulationsgo to Frà John on this honor.As is required by the Code ofthe Order, John has steppeddown as Regent of the Sub-Priory. Frà James-Michaelvon Stroebel of the FederalAssociation will serve asActing Regent until an electioncan be held. We look forwardto continuing to work withJohn here in NYC, and wishhim well as he serves theOrder in this new capacity.The interests of the AmericanAssociation will be well repre-sented in Rome!

At the same time, Dan Kelly,President of the AmericanAssociation, has been elected tothe Govern-ment Council whichacts as an advisory board to theSovereign Council. Again, in

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RDEROF

MALTAOON E W Y O R K A R E A

Spring 2009 Newsletter

JANUARY 15 - 18 2009

he Code of the Order of Maltarequires that every five yearsHMEH the Grand Master

convene a Chapter General of the Orderto elect the Sovereign Council, theGovernment Council and several othercommittees. A Chapter General wascalled for June 8th and 9th, 2009 inRome.

In recent times, it has been the cus-tom to hold a seminar earlier in the yearto formulate policy and make organiza-tional recommendations for considera-tion by the Sovereign Council during itsnext quinquennium. The previous semi-nar was held fiveyears ago in Maltaand this year it was held in Venicefrom January 15ththrough 18th.

This year’stheme was Ten Years Ahead. AllGrand Priors,Regents, Presidentsof Associations,Professed Knightsand Ambassadorswere invited to attend. The GrandPriories, Sub-Priories and NationalAssociations all sent delegates. I attend-ed as Regent of the Sub-Priory of Our

Lady of Lourdes. Chancellor of the Sub-Priory Desmond and Patricia McCarthyattended as delegates. Richard Armstrongcame as a Professed Knight of the Order. President Dan Kelly was there with his wife Rosemary. AssociationChancellor, Jack Pohrer, attended as well

as the Hospitaler, JoeMetz with his wife, Elissa. Co-Hospitaler, MaryMcCooey, was thereas was Treasurer,Jim O’Connor withhis wife, Anne. TomCarney attended as a member of theGovernment Counciland Tom Flood came with his wifeSarah as member of

the Order’s Communications Committee.Bob Shafer, the Order’s Ambassador tothe United Nations, also attended withhis wife, Ellen, who was a delegate.

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Letter from the Chair

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Lourdes’ Time, For The First Time

he bright yellow quadrangles we see from the airplane landing inToulouse announce the inexplicable light that cuts through the rainiesttimes… On the bus to Lourdes we recognize that the intense yellow

comes from flowers that are cultivated in that region of France and Spain andalongside the Mediterranean coast as well. The drive by the feet of the Pyrénéesmakes us start to face how small we all are and how much strength can comefrom our surroundings. Nature poetically hints all the elements of the spiritualjourney about to begin.

People, places, stories, masses, processions,meals, chats, piles of beautiful basilicas on top ofone another, slices of history and stories mergingand intertwining. Tolerance, understanding, andloving our neighbor. Great cappuccino–oh well, it isclose enough to Italy for the French to know whatthey are doing… Reflections with the teenagers andice cream party with the kids. Footsteps ofBernadette and the silent beauty of the Grotto atnight. Compelling sermons. Playing the flute at allmasses, especially for the anointing of the sick, andthe benediction at Basilica Piu X. My spirituality,others’ spirituality, the malades and the overwhelm-ingly pungent presence of one of the deepest philo-

sophical Catholic dilemmas of all times–how and why there is maladie in theworld. Adults seeking for a cure, adults asking God for strength to deal with nocure. Parents praying for a miracle and children naively (or wisely?) enjoyingan atmosphere of non-judgmental acceptance, where people don’t need to qual-ify in order to give or receive love. Children living in the present, sometimesmore than the adults who care so deeply for their future. The newness of wear-ing the uniform–a constant reminder that, despite all differences, we are trulyall the same, and we are all in this world together. Inspirational speeches at thefarewell party at Hotel D’Espagne.

From such a deeply moving andintense week, with the added impact ofbeing a “first-timer”, it is difficult to selectsomething to share as my first impression.Yet, there were two clear highlights of mypersonal journey in Lourdes: the candle-light procession on Friday evening, and thealtered perception of time.

The Candlelight Procession

Thirty thousand people comingtogether and faithfully chanting the samemelodies in so many different languages atsuch a beautiful Marian site is in itself verypowerful. It went much beyond that.Toward the end of the candlelight proces-sion, groups get split. Only the malades and one caregiver per malade can move

by Celina Charlier

Celina playing the flute during Mass

keeping with the requirements of theOrder, Dan has resigned as Presidentand has been succeeded by JackPohrer, Chancellor, who will serve asActing President until elections areheld in the fall. Dan has done anexceptional job as AmericanAssociation President for the past sixyears and he, too, is to be congratu-lated.

We are grateful to the membersof the Membership Committee andothers for their efforts this spring inproposing new candidates for theOrder. A total of 20 NYC Area appli-cations for 2010 were submitted tothe Association's MembershipCommittee. You will learn moreabout these candidates in the nextNewsletter.

As always, the Pilgrimage toLourdes was a great success andmany from the NYC Area were repre-sented as Members, Auxiliaries,malades and care givers. We encour-age you to read the articles con-tributed here by two 2009Candidates in their Year ofPreparation who participated intheir first Order of Malta Pilgrimageto Lourdes.

We wish you all a wonderfulsummer and hope to see many of youon September 8th for the Mass inhonor of Our Lady of Philermo.More details will be provided closerto the date.

Confraternally yours,Rory and Camille Kelleher

rkelleher@sidley.comcamillekelleher@aol.com

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Fr. John McGuire, OP and Celina

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Letter from the Chair

www.orderofmalta.org

rchbishop Dolanvisited the TerenceCardinal CookeCenter on Friday

June 12th to tour the facilityand celebrate Mass for theresidents. The Mass wasattended by a number ofMalta Knights and Dames,and was followed by aluncheon reception on therooftop terrace of TCC. TheArchbishop expressed hisappreciation to the Order ofMalta for all it has done tosupport TCC over its31–year existence. TheOrder of Malta serves the facility in many capacities: mem-bers serve as Trustees, benefactors, and most of all, as vol-unteers. Among those attending the luncheon were Msgr.

James Cassidy, Bob Dall, Henry Humphreys, RogerWeaving, Lou Cappelli (whose company, Sterling NationalBank, underwrote the luncheon), Charles DeBenedittis,Joan Stout, Rory and Camille Kelleher.

Archbishop Dolan Celebrates Mass At Terrence Cardinal Cooke Center

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S P E C I A L

P R O J E C T

Over 400 delegates participated in all.

The seminar was held at the Hilton Molino StuckHotel, a very large former 19th century factory that hadbeen converted into a modern hotel. It is situated on theGiudecca, an island located across the lagoon from Veniceproper. The Giudecca was the medieval Jewish Ghetto ofVenice. All travel to and from the island was by boat. Itseemed very strange indeed to be picked up at the airport

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As many in the Area know, theChapel at TCC has been an integralpart of the Order’s activities inNYC for many years. And, asmany who regularly participate inSunday Mass each week canattest, the Chapel is sorely in needof a face lift. The estimated cost ofrenovation is about $25,000, including anupdated audio system. In the past, we have donatedfunds raised from our various NYC activities to TCC’sgeneral fund. This year, we will be channeling ourefforts more directly to renovation of the Chapel. Withproceeds generated by the 2008 and upcoming 2009Christmas parties and other events, plus profits fromsales of items by the Auxiliary, we believe we can assistTCC in the refurbishment, thereby freeing up TCC’sfunds to be used more directly for the sick and infirm.Members wishing to contribute to the project may sendchecks, payable to Order of Malta–NYC Area, toCamille Kelleher, 1165 Fifth Avenue, New York, NY10029.

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by boat and taken to the hotel. Theweather was cold and rainy for themost part and Venice was oftenshrouded in fog which only added toits mystery and magic.

The day before the seminar beganmuch business of the Order was con-ducted. I attended a full-day meetingof all the Professed Knights withHMEH the Grand Master and HE theGrand Commander. Meetings werealso held among the Presidents tochose delegates to the ChapterGeneral in Rome. That day there wasalso a luncheon meeting of the Regentsand a meeting of the Moderators of theWorking Groups. I am pleased toannounce that Dan Kelly was electedby the Presidents and that I was elect-ed by the Regents to attend the ChapterGeneral in June.

All delegates were assigned to oneof 12 working groups arranged aboutvarious topics.

DELEGATE TOPICS

1. The Revival of the First Class – attracting members and cultivating voca-tions: an examination of the state of the First Class and measures to encour-age more members of the Order to consider becoming Knights of Justice(“Professed” Knights), especially younger members.

2. Fifty Years of Obedience: assessing the Class of Obedience, Knights andDames interested in deepening their spiritual and practical commitment tothe Order who take the Promise of Obedience.

3. Developing Future Leadership for the Governing Structures of the Order:measures to assist in closing the gap between the increasing demands of theOrder’s structures and the availability of qualified people to serve as local,regional and international leaders.

4. The Order Providing and Spreading Christian Education: examining whethereducational projects and activities should be a core competency of the Orderin the near future.

5. “Put on the Armor of Light”–The Pope’s Direct Appeal to the Order: whatshould be the Order’s response to the direct call made to the Order by PopeBenedict XVI: “It is time to awaken from sleep! To put on the armor of Lightto fight the evil and sin which darken our existence,” linking this appeal toour mission in recognizing Christ in the needy whom we serve.

6. Promoting Christian Culture in the Secular World of the 21st Century: howcan individual members and the Order overall effectively work to build theCity of God?

7. The Order: A Haven for the Sanctity of Life: what is the Order’s role in thetitanic conflict between the “culture of life” and the “culture of death” inwhich secularism now boldly attacks Christian communities and their valuesand their right to act or speak on a multitude of issues.

8. Obsequium Pauperum: Focus on the Social and Spiritual Victims of ModernSociety: do we need to focus on new areas of social distress, loneliness andpoverty and outcast situations which can be addressed by willing volunteersnot possessed of professional training required for classic hospitaler projects?

9. Originating from Many Traditions. Our Need to Join in a Single Culture ofthe Order: recommendations as to how individual members and organiza-tions of the Order can be led to genuinely feel part of the one Order with allother members and volunteers worldwide.

10. Enhancing Highlights in the Life of the Order: International Pilgrimages:measures to maintain, cultivate, and develop the annual pilgrimage toLourdes and other pilgrimages to The Holy Land, Rome, Malta, theInternational Summer Camp, the Youth Camp in Lebanon and internationalparticipation in national Association–sponsored pilgrimages in Germany,Italy, France, Spain and England.

11. The Order as Promoter of Peace Among Nations, Religions and Societies: asa Sovereign institution involved in charitable work world-wide, and as a neu-tral organization not involved in political activity, is the Order uniquely suit-ed to promote peace in the world–including the Middle East?

12. Presenting the Order as an Organization Worthy of Financial Support fromWithin and Beyond its Membership: does each Knight and Dame see theOrder as their highest priority for contributing time, talent and money to ourlocal and international activities? Externally the Order is seen as a goodcause, honest, transparent and efficiently devoted to its tasks. How do wemaintain this image and adapt it to future demands?

The seminar opened formallyThursday evening with a magnificentsolemn mass at the ancient church ofSanti Zacharia ed Atansio, which,among other things, has the remains ofSaint Zachery, father of our Patron,Saint John the Baptist. During the cer-emony, HMEH the Grand Master waspresented with a bone of the saint.Following the mass, we attended areception and dinner at the headquar-ters of the Grand Priory of Lombardyand Venice which has belonged tothe Order since 1315.

Each day began with mass in thehotel said by the Prelate of the Order,HE Archbishop Angelo Acerbi.Friday was day one of the actualseminar and it began with a Plenary

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forward, and they isolate the other people. I was very con-cerned about being able to find my malade later as I gotswamped by the crowd. Of course I could go back to thehotel by myself, but they needed me to help push thevoiture… As I voiced my concern to a stranger by my side, someone who had been there before, she replied withconviction: “Don’t you worry! You know what happens inthe end?” To which, my Cartesian mind expected very pre-cise instructions: “What?” I asked with confident enthusi-asm. “Oh, everybody just finds one another, naturally.” Ithought to myself—maybe everybody else does, but howwill I find my malade? I even get lost when my mom picksme up at the airport! Well, you know what happened at theend? Thousands of people randomly scrambled, all

dressed the sameand in the dark…and everybodyjust found every-body naturally,despite all odds. It was a preciousreminder thatthere is some-thing beyondwhat the eyes cansee. Some will say it is God, or the Holy Spirit, or theVirgin Mary… It was a moment of certitude and of high-lighted faith.

Dan Foxx, KM, was recognizedwith the Mary White CommitmentAward at the Annual Flower Ballbenefiting the Terence CardinalCooke Health Care Center.

John K. Castle, KM, receivedthe Msgr. James J. Murray Award,and Philip J. Smith, KM, receivedthe Thomas J. Walsh Award, atthe recent Cocktail Reception tobenefit the Mary Manning WalshHome and the development of ashort-term rehabilitation unit.

Lourdes’ Time, For The First Time

MembersHonored

Celina and her malade, Te Cole.

Session addressed by HMEH the Grand Master. We then went to our WorkingGroups.

Each Working Group was moder-ated by two delegates. I had the honorof co-moderating Working Group 11,which had some 28 members, mostlyAmbassadors of the Order fromthroughout the world. HMEH theGrand Master spent one whole ses-sion attending our Working Groupand willingly participated in the dis-cussion and debate. Work was organ-

ized around position papers drawn up by the moderators which had been circu-lated to members prior to the seminar. We met for two sessions each morningand two each afternoon.

Saturday evening there was a Gala Dinner at the hotel with HMEH theGrand Master. Sunday morning the delegates met in final Plenary Session tohear summaries and short reports from the two moderators of each WorkingGroup and to be addressed by the Chairman of the Organizing Team, WinfriedHenckel von Donnersmarck, a member of Sovereign Council, and by HMEHthe Grand Master. Final full reports of each Working Group will be releasedshortly and will be used as a resource for the Order in the coming years.

Following the final Plenary Session, everyone, in church robes, boarded a flotilla of boats which took us across the lagoon to Venice proper. The quay waslined with members of the Grand Priory of Lombardy and Venice in their robes.A procession was formed that proceeded along the quay to Piazza San Marco,through the square and into the Basilica of San Marco. We were greeted at thegreat doors by the Patriarch of Venice, His Eminence Angelo Cardinal Scola,who offered a Pontifical High Mass in Latin with a delightful homily in English.

Venice International Seminar

The perception of time in Lourdes

According to cognition studies,several “species” of time can coexist:absolute time (what occurs, indepen-dent of human perception), clock time(a tentative measuring of absolutetime), social time (affected by humanperception of human interaction),linear time (a sequence of events),virtual time (a time in which we areremoved from our daily experiences).

There are altered states of con-sciousness that provide a feeling ofnon-linearity, of verticality, of extend-ed present, of stasis – a realm of vir-

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t has been a busy six months of the Order of Maltain NYC. Members helped to serve Thanksgivingdinner to residents of the Terence Cardinal Cooke

Health Care Center on two separate nights in November.Many of those same individuals, and many others, returnedin December to host a festive Christmas Party for the residents and their families. Members of the Order and theAuxiliary donated and wrapped gifts that were distributedto the residents by Santa (Ken Craig) and his elves. TheTCC Christmas Party was followed by the 5th AnnualChristmas Party for Members, graciously hosted by AgnesNolan, and which generated donations of over $6,000 forthe Area’s charities.

On the spiritual front, in December we joined with theEquestrian Order of the Holy Sepulchre to host an AdventAfternoon of Reflection in the Lady Chapel of St. Patrick’sCathedral. Homilists were chaplains Msgr. Thomas E.Gilleece and Msgr. Robert T. Ritchie. In February, the Sub-Priory of Our Lady of Lourdes and members of the Orderobserved the Feast of Our Lady of Lourdes with a Healing

Mass celebrated by chaplain Rev. John P. McGuire, OP, atthe lovely early 19th century St. Joseph’s Church inGreenwich Village. A number of malades from the areawho have participated in recent pilgrimages were alsoinvited. We joined with the Order of the Holy Sepulchreagain in March for a Lenten Day of Recollection at St.Joseph’s Seminary in Yonkers. In addition to homilies bythe Most Reverend Frank J. Rodimer and Msgr. Thomas E.Gilleece, we heard from Brother Austin David Carroll ofthe Catholic Near East Welfare Association about the HolyLand and from John Schweska who spoke on the inter-secting histories of the two Orders. The day concludedwith Benediction and Mass celebrated by the MostReverend Gerald T. Walsh, Rector of the Seminary.

Several members of the Order were invited to attendthe Installation of the Most Reverend Timothy M. Dolan asArchbishop of the Archdiocese of New York. ArchbishopDolan, Grand Cross Conventual Chaplain ad honorem, hasalso been designated as the new Principal Chaplain of theAmerican Association.

A Round Up of Recent Corporal and Spiritual Activities in the NYC Area

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ereavement CommitteeTH

E

WW e are very saddened to informyou that United States DistrictJudge John E. Sprizzo died onDecember 16, 2008.

Judge Sprizzo was nominatedto the federal bench by PresidentRonald Reagan in 1981.

A Mass of Christian Burialwas held for him on December22nd St. John NepomuceneChurch in New York City. TheNew York Area of the AmericanAssociation provided an honorguard of over twenty Knights andDames, including LaureAubuchon, Mary Barnes, KennethCraig, Joseph G. Golia, MarcoGrassi, Bob Greason, RoryKelleher, Camille Kelleher,Dorothy Maceldorf, GregoryOussanil and Thomas L. Tisdale.

We are very saddened toinform you that Dr. Thomas J.Quigley died on February 26,2009.

A Mass of Christian Burialwas held for him on March 4th atSaint Teresa of the Infant Jesusand St. Nicholas Chapel in StatenIsland. The New York Area of theAmerican Association provided anhonor guard of Knights, includingThomas J. Forlenza, Peter Krause,John Morris, Thomas Sullivan andThomas Vazzana.

(The Bereavement Committeeis responsible for providing funer-al honors for deceased membersof the Order. Funeral honors,which are conducted at the requestof the family, include arrangingfor the attendance of Knights and

Dames, provid-ing an honorguard, assist-ing in the useof robes andthe pall of theOrder, andattending toother appropri-ate details.

Families of deceased Knights and Dames may request funeral honors by contacting the Chairman of the Bereavement Committee,John Leopoldo Fiorilla, at +1 (212)661-6222 or e-mail jlf@fiorilla.com,or directly through the Association’soffice at +1 (212) 371-1522. If possible, at least 48 hours noticeshould be provided.

The Bereavement Committee alsoneeds volunteers who may be con-tacted on short notice to participatein funeral masses. Those interested inserving should contact the Chairman.

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Following the mass, we boarded our boats toreturn to the hotel for a luncheon. Thatevening HMEH the Grand Master hosted adinner at the hotel for the Grand Priors,Regents, Presidents of the Associations andAmbassadors.

The weekend passed at rapid speed andMonday morning we were all on planescoming home. This seminar, by all accounts,was an unqualified success and willundoubtedly help the Order worldwide to goforward in the future fulfilling its mission toour lords, the sick and the poor.

Frà John T. DunlapRegent

tual time. This altered perception of time can be enticed byseveral elements, music and spirituality being two of them.They can make us perceive five minutes as a very longtime, as well as “transform” hours into a short period oftime. This feeling of a virtual time can be enabled throughrepetition, like chanting a simple melody numerous times(Ave, Ave, Ave Maria…), through prayer, through theimpact of intense emotions or faith.

Our perception of temporality was impacted by thisLourdes pilgrimage in a very beautiful and powerful manner. We experience our spirituality not only in Lourdesor through the pilgrimage, but also in “Lourdes time.”There is an intense yet peaceful sense of present, of beingin the present, of living the present, and of sharing a period

of extended present with others… In the middle of the trip, when chatting about our personal journeys, it seems hard to remember whether something that was so special happened on Tuesday or Wednesday… This pilgrimage feels like an undividable continuum where,without losing our own individuality, people are all thesame, our search for spirituality is the same, and evenwithin such a hectic schedule, there is time for everything.There is a general sense of unity that calmly embraceseverybody and everything in that time and space. One day seems like an entire week, while the whole week flieslike a single day. A “Lourdes minute” is the spiritualequivalent of a “New York minute.”

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William S. DingerWilliam H. Sadlier,Inc.9 Pine StreetNew York,NY 10005

ith the help of an expanded Membership Committee,over 40 people were recently identified as possible

candidates for membership in the Order of Malta in 2010.These prospects were invited to a reception on May 12th at thehome of Rory and Camille Kelleher, NYC Area Co-Chairs.The 20 prospects attending had the opportunity to meet with12 members of the Order and hear presentations on the historyand charism of the Order, its ministries and opportunities forservice in the NYC area. Rory Kelleher provided a briefoverview of the Order and its mission. Rev. John McGuirespoke of spirituality; Frà John Dunlap explained the organiza-tional structure of the Order and the Sub-Priory of Our Ladyof Lourdes. Dan Foxx addressed the Eucharistic Ministry program and Deacon John Powers provided a synopsis of theNYC area efforts in prison ministry through Abraham House.A video of the Order’s work at the Cardinal Cooke Center wasshown. We are hopeful that the efforts of the MembershipCommittee will bear fruit. Thus far, we have received 4 completed applications.

Prospective Members Reception

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FROM THE PRO-LIFE COMMITTEE:Taking an active pro-life stance is vitally

important in the Order of Malta’s mission ofdefending the Catholic faith. You can make yourvoice known right from your computer or PDA. Toshow your opposition to the proposed federal“Freedom of Choice Act” (FOCA), which woulddeclare abortion a “fundamental right” throughoutthe U.S.A, please sign the on-line petition atwww.fightfoca.org.

On the New York State level, to show youropposition to the proposed Reproductive HealthAct (RHA), an extreme bill that in part would forcedoctors to perform abortions and coerce Catholicinstitutions into facilitating the destruction of inno-cent human lives, please go to the NYS CatholicAdvocacy Network at www.nyscatholic.org andclick on the “Take Action Now” link. By clickingon the “Stop the Extreme Abortion Proposal” but-ton, you will automatically e-mail the Governor,NYS Senate and Assembly a pre-written letter,which you can also edit.

For more suggestions on supporting pro-lifeadvocacy efforts, please contact Gregory Oussaniof the NYC Area Pro-Life Committee at gregory@staplex.com.