Order of Malta’s Grand Master: ‘be a living, vibrant force for good’

On Monday 28 October, the Melbourne branch of the Sovereign Order of Malta gathered to celebrate a milestone of national significance: the 50th anniversary of the order’s Australian Association, which was established on 18 October 1974.

What made the evening additionally special was the presence of His Most Eminent Highness Fra’ John Dunlap, the Grand Master of the order, who gave a keynote address commending the Australian Association for its work defending the faith and serving their ‘lords and ladies’, the poor and sick—the charism that has guided them for more than 900 years. The Canadian-born lawyer is the 81st Prince and Grand Master of the Sovereign Military Hospitaller Order of St John of Jerusalem, of Rhodes and of Malta. The Order of Malta is the oldest lay religious order in the Catholic Church, consisting of more than 13,500 knights, dames and chaplains.

‘Our order is united by a common purpose, to defend the faith and to serve those in need regardless of nationality, race or creed,’ Fra’ Dunlap said. ‘The work done here in Australia is a vital extension of that global mission.’

A common theme of your projects is the reduction of suffering amongst the lonely and the abandoned in modern society.

He pointed to the range of the order’s initiatives in Australia, from its Coats for the Homeless program, which has ‘flourished’ across the country, to its work in palliative care and swift responses to national disasters like the 2020 Black Summer bushfires. He also highlighted how integral the Australian Association has been in the development of the order in countries like South Korea, Thailand, Hong Kong, Singapore and New Zealand.

Fra’ Dunlap noted, ‘A common theme of your projects is the reduction of suffering amongst the lonely and the abandoned in modern society.’

Even in locations where there are fewer members and volunteers, good work is being done: ‘A small team in the Northern Territory is known for punching above their weight, assisting your Indigenous fellow citizens.’

His Most Eminent Highness pointed to the future with hope. ‘As we look to the future, the work of the order in Australia must continue with the same passion and dedication that brought us to this point,’ he said. ‘There is much still to be done in addressing the needs of the poor, the sick, the vulnerable … I encourage new members and volunteers to join the order’s works, to bring fresh energy and ideas to the association.’

During the evening, National Hospitaller John Murphy, who oversees the order’s humanitarian projects nationwide, interviewed a number of those involved in the order’s work on the ground. Their collaboration with Australian Catholic University (ACU), in particular, has been critical, John said, in keeping their work ‘research-based’ by ‘finding out what the needs are of the people living on the margins’.

Since 2021, ACU and the Australian Association of the Order of Malta have partnered on the university’s expanding community outreach program, including the establishment of the Order of Malta Community Hub.

The hub provides community-engaged outreach for residents in the City of Darebin in Melbourne’s northern suburbs and has launched several pilot programs, including a Mobile Community Café and Community Garden for residents of a public housing estate in inner-city Melbourne, a one-on-one literacy program, and nutrition and cooking workshops for newly arrived families from Syria, including a school holiday program for Syrian migrant children.

Anna Vandierendonck, Manager and Coordinator of the Community Hub Program, shared about her experience getting the project up and running, and its focus on building relationships. Through this initiative, the order has been able to bring people in social housing together who otherwise experience quite intense loneliness.

‘We’ve been able to listen to what their needs are and what their aspirations are,’ Ms Vandierendonck said, ‘and then based on those needs and aspirations, we’ve been able to support them.’

Brittannie Probst, a volunteer for the order and a paramedic student at ACU, spoke about her experience with the order’s community van and Coats for the Homeless program, describing it as ‘a very unique service’.

‘There’s a lot of services for the homeless,’ she said, ‘but not all of them take a truly humanistic approach, appreciating people’s dignity, and really take the time to sit down and talk to people and see where you can improve their life.’

John Murphy also interviewed Jim Creaner, Manager and Coordinator of the Mercy Palliative Care volunteer program, and Gaylene Coulton, CEO of Eastern Palliative Care.

The Order of Malta Australian Association is a part-owner of Eastern Palliative Care, and their collaboration with Mercy in the western region of Melbourne has been particularly fruitful. While COVID-19 initially made a dent in their volunteer numbers, intentional enlistment campaigns in parishes across the Archdiocese have drawn in huge numbers, increasing their volunteers by more than 20 per cent.

Eastern Palliative Care (EPC) is known for its popular biography program, in which those reaching the end of their life are able to share their stories and have a special hardcover volume made available for their families. Mr Creaner noted how this was not a strong feature of Mercy’s work until their collaboration with EPC.

Ms Coulton shared some of the challenges experienced in the palliative care sector, pointing especially to the ageing population and increasing demand for EPC’s service, as well as the recent decrease in state government funding.

‘The need is increasing but the funding isn’t. We have to really do a lot of work about thinking smarter and working smarter,’ she said.

The range of experiences and work shared through the evening was a testament to the order’s commitment to the dignity and sanctity of human life.

Throughout the evening, awards were presented to those displaying an ‘exceptional commitment to the mission of the order’. Attendees also heard from other distinguished guests, including the Hon James Douglas KC, President of the Australian Association, and Mr Paul Hoy AM KSG, Hospitaller for the south-eastern region. The presence of Mother Angela and Sr Rosemary from the Carmelite Monastery in Kew was also celebrated—the Carmelites have a longstanding relationship with the Order of Malta, with the history of these two orders having been intertwined for centuries.

With God’s grace, may each of you continue to live out the mission of the order and continue to be a living, vibrant force for good in the world.’

Two of Melbourne’s auxiliary bishops, Most Rev Terry Curtin, chaplain to the Melbourne branch, and Most Rev Tony Ireland, were also present.

In his concluding remarks, Fra’ Dunlap said, ‘The future of the Australian Association will be shaped by those who choose to carry forward the mission of the order. Let us look at the next five years with hope and resolve. Let us continue the work of our founders, the blessed Fra’ Gerard, to those who established the Australian Association, inspired by faith and love for those whom we serve … With God’s grace, may each of you continue to live out the mission of the order and continue to be a living, vibrant force for good in the world.’

The celebration came after Fra’ Dunlap attended Mass at St Patrick’s Cathedral, along with other members of the order, on Sunday 27 October.

The Order of Malta has hosted celebrations in Melbourne, Canberra and Brisbane and Sydney, where ACU conferred on Fra’ Dunlap the Honorary Degree of Doctor of the University (Honoris Causa) following a lecture at the university’s North Sydney campus.

ACU Vice-Chancellor and President Prof Zlatko Skrbis said it was an honour to recognise Fra’ Dunlap’s outstanding leadership and contribution, noting that ‘Over the course of his lifetime, Fra’ John Dunlap has made a significant contribution to the mission of the Catholic Church through his service in the Sovereign Order of Malta. He has been one of the leading voices in the Order of Malta across the globe in ensuring that the Order of Malta stays true to its charism reflected in its motto “Tuitio Fidei et Obsequium Pauperum” (“witnessing the faith, helping the poor”).’

The very reason that the Order of Malta counts itself among the oldest religious orders in the Church is precisely because it has always focused on the future—modern by tradition—and with the guidance of the Holy Spirit, the order has largely been able to discern the signs of the times.

Fra’ Dunlap first encountered the Order of Malta in the mid-1980s while volunteering at the Cardinal Cooke Medical Center in Harlem, New York, which cares for patients suffering from AIDS and other diseases, and he continues to volunteer weekly at Cardinal Cooke Health Care Centre. Born in Ottawa, Canada, he is a member of the New York State Bar and Ontario Bar Association. An internationally respected lawyer, he has been legal adviser to the Permanent Observer Mission of the Holy See to the United Nations since 1997.

In his lecture on 4 November, Fra’ Dunlap said, ‘It may seem a bit of a paradox that a 1,000-year-old institution has its eyes trained firmly on the future, not on the past,’ Fra’ Dunlap said. ‘One might think that, with such a storied history, the Order would find its direction in tradition, its future in its past. But in a certain sense, the very reason that the Order of Malta counts itself among the oldest religious orders in the Church is precisely because it has always focused on the future—modern by tradition—and with the guidance of the Holy Spirit, the order has largely been able to discern the signs of the times.’