Sovereign Military Hospitaller Order of St. John of Jerusalem of Rhodes and of Malta ®
National Conferences
The purpose of the American Association National Conferences is to meet and discuss the key works of the Order. Several of these conferences have had specific themes, but a common thread among all of them is to educate, inspire, and stimulate thinking by sharing ideas to help the Members enhance their spirituality, defend the faith and better serve the sick and the poor.
In addition to the officers and leadership of the Order, speakers have included distinguished individuals, both clergy and lay, who are very accomplished in their respective fields; for example, a discussion of the key concepts in bio and medical ethics. Administrative matters dealing with grants, membership growth, the Order worldwide, the operation of Areas, and the Lourdes Pilgrimage are also discussed.
Today the "National Conferences" are available to all members of the Order to attend, not just the Area Chairpersons, Hospitallers, and the Association leadership.
2009 National Conference
The 2009 National Conference will beheld in Long Island, New York on September 25-27, 2009. Pat & Des McCath are Co-Chairs of the event.
2007
The seventh biennial National Conference of the American Association of the Sovereign Military Order of Malta was hosted by the New Jersey Area over the weekend of September 28-30, 2007. Jeanette and Bob Fredericks were the Co-Chairs that organized an outstanding Conference Committee.
One hundred seventy-five (175) members and guests attended the event, held at Seton Hall University, South Orange, New Jersey.
The conference theme was Celebrating Life! The program was designed around several phases of life, its joys and disappointments, from conception to natural death. Four nationally recognized speakers in the areas of “the life bookends” (conception and death), marriage, sons’ and daughters’ loss of faith, and prison incarceration addressed these challenges as both moral and social issues. Gregory Floyd and his family presented a musical program on Saturday evening that celebrated one family’s triumph over a personal tragedy—the loss of a six-year-old son in an automobile accident.
Archbishop Celestino Migliore, Apostolic Nuncio and Permanent Observer of the Holy See to the United Nations, was both celebrant and homilist at the mass of welcome, held at the Cathedral Basilica of the Sacred Heart, Newark.
The New Jersey Area was privileged to host the 2007 National Conference in order that we could pray and study, enjoy each other’s company, and celebrate life together.
2005
The sixth biennial Membership Conference of the Order was held at Fairfield University in Connecticut. The meeting focused on rediscovering the richness of the spirituality of the Order through the ministries and works that are the core of our commitment.
Speakers discussed inner city mentoring programs, international outreach operations in Haiti, crisis in pregnancy and prison ministry. Members of the Order in Connecticut also detailed how they started and sustain programs that address each of these issues.
With 180 in attendance, it was a weekend of spiritual enrichment, intellectual stimulation and social events that brought new and old friends together.
2003
In 2003 the Detroit Area hosted the first "Membership Conference" in the suburbs of Detroit, Michigan . For the first time all Members of the Association were invited and the conference extended more than two days. Among other events, attendees visited Malta charities and projects. Of special interest was the Rose Hill Center which treats individuals with various mental disorders. Our current President, Daniel J. Kelly, and his wife Rosemary, founded this extraordinary institution.
2001
The Boston Area and Boston College were hosts in 2001, organized by James F. O'Connor, KMOb, the Boston Area Chair. It was called a “Leadership Conference” and approximately 165 people attended. This Conference took another step forward by engaging more university professors and experts on matters of mutual concern. A most stimulating address became the keynote – 10 days after 9/11; Responding to the Terrorist Attacks: A Catholic Perspective by David Hollenbach S.J. It was later decided that because of the expanding nature of the conferences and the effort involved, they would become biannual events.
2000
In September of 2000 the "Area Chairs/Hospitallers Retreat" was hosted by the Indiana Area Members and John T. Bycraft, KM, their Area Chair, at the University of Notre Dame in South Bend , Indiana . This was the first time the conference was held on a university campus and over 100 attended. It included a tour of The Women's Care Center Malta House and an extraordinary presentation by Bishop Daniel R. Jenky, C.S.C., then Deputy Chaplain for Indiana .
1999
The next conference was held in 1999 at Athenaeum Of Ohio, the Archdiocesan Seminary in Cincinnati hosted by the Cincinnati Area Chair, William Burleigh, KMOb, for approximately the same number of people.
1998
In 1998, after an absence of six years, Donald Gunn, KM, and Jack Pohrer, KM, hosted a "Hospitallers Conference" at Kendrick Seminary in St. Louis , Missouri, and approximately 50 attended. The visit to their project at St. Patrick Center for the homeless was a highlight.
1992
The genesis of the conferences began as a "Hospitallers Conference" in 1992 in Palm Beach , Florida . Peter Grace, KM, then the President of the American Association, asked approximately 30 to attend a one-day conference to better enhance the leadership of the American Association.