Order Of Malta Pilgrimage: Sunday 25 August 2024

Order of Malta Pilgrimage

Sunday, 25 August 2024

The Sovereign Military Hospitaller Order of St John of Jerusalem, of Rhodes and of Malta, commonly called The Sovereign Military Order of Malta (SMOM), or simply the Order of Malta, is the oldest Catholic lay order in the world. Over the past 900 years, since its foundation in Jerusalem in 1099, it has provided constant service in the alleviation of suffering among the poor and the sick throughout the world.

In 1938, the Irish Association’s Chancellor, the Marquis Patrick MacSwiney of Marshanaglass, and Dr. Charles Conor O’Malley, Professor of Opthalmology and Otology in University College Galway, commenced the Ambulance Corps’ services as the Association’s primary charitable activity. The first unit was established at Galway. Within ten years, ambulance corps’ units were established in other Irish cities and towns, and they are still actively engaged in providing emergency medical assistance to local and rural communities. This service provided the blueprint and example for the development of similar ambulance and mobile emergency medical services elsewhere such as Malteser Hilferdienst in Germany and Malteser International.

Subsequently, the Irish Association has expanded the range of its activities in the provision of care and support services for the disabled, elderly, marginalised and vulnerable, and in providing support for maternity and medical services in the Order’s hospital Bethlehem.

Schedule of Ceremonies

2pm: Rosary

2.30pm: Anointing of the Sick

3pm: Concelebrated Mass

Chief Celebrant & Homilist: Fr. Tom Rodgers

Followed by outdoor Rosary procession (weather permitting)