"Lord Jesus, ...."
Pope Leo XIV just published his first magisterial document, Dilexi Te, which focuses directly on our charism, embrace of the poor. My first thought was, did he write this for the Order of Malta? Actually, he completed this document which was started by Pope Francis, but it almost seems directed at our Order in a particular way. As I may by way through the document, I will leave you a few thoughts to contemplate: (Numbers refer to the paragraphs of the document. These are a few of the quotes published by Aletia a few days ago.)
42: ... charity is not optional but a requirement of true worship.
76: Christian holiness often flourishes in the most forgotten and wounded places of humanity.
79: ...When the Church bends down to care for the poor, she assumes her highest posture.
92: ...the dignity of every human person must be respected today, not tomorrow.
109: While it is true that the rich care for the poor, the opposite is no less true.... Lives can actually be turned around by the realization that the poor have much to teach us about the Gospel and its demands.
120: A Church that sets no limits to love, that knows no enemies to fight but only men and women to love, is the Church that the world needs today.
As our Grand Hospitaller told us at Investiture, faith and works of charity are two sides of the same coin and cannot be separated. This is our mission. We are called to do all our works of charity in the name of the Lord. To evangelize by our actions. These quotes give me much to reflect on.
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We just celebrated the Feast of Blessed Gerard, our founder, yesterday, so I am sharing an image below of the beautiful banner that Susan Watkins made for the Order of Malta. Those who attended the Investiture or the Subpriory Mass were able to see it! Thank you Susan!
By Barbara Ritschel, DM
"Thou has seen fit to enlist me in thy service..."
Pope Leo has urged us to pray the Rosary daily in October for Peace. We have several opportunities to do so below in community.
Tuesday, October 21: Feast Day of Blessed Karl
Blessed Kard, the last Emperor of Austria, is said to have been a saint during his reign and his sincere and unending attempts at peace and ending the first world war. Perhaps praying for his intercession can bring peace to our troubled times.
Local Masses for Blessed Karl are as follows:
Sunday, October 19, 10 AM: Saint Mary Mother of God Church, 5th and H Streets, NW, Washington DC
Monday, October 20, 8 PM: Saint John the Beloved Church, 6420 Linway Terrace, McLean
Tuesday, October 21, 7 PM: St. Thomas the Apostle Church, with Rev. Richard Mullins, Celebrant and a reception to follow. 2665 Woodley Rd, NW, Washington DC.
Saturday, 25 October. A day of Healing at Holy Trinity
Saturday, October 25, 9:30AM - 2:00PM - Holy Trinity’s Order of Malta Group invites all to A Day of Healing and Reflection, including: Mass, Anointing, Rosary, Reflection and meals at Georgetown Visitation, 1524 35 Street, NW. Please RSVP to barbarajones1@verizon.net.
Please join members from all four Regions of the greater Washington area for a very special Mass for the Sanctity of Life on November 1st at St Ann Catholic Church on 4001 Yuma St. NW, Washington DC, 20016. Mass will be followed by a discussion of the Code and Constitution by AMB Peter McGuire, Regent of the Subpriory of Lourdes. We are very blessed to have AMB McGuire make this special trip to Washington to talk with us on the Code and Constitution. Please RSVP by Tuesday, October 28, 2025, to Barbara at barbaraff@live.com so that we can plan for seating and a light lunch which will be served after Mass. The donation will be $25. Please bring a check or cash to the reception which will be collected by Jim Bowe. We look forward to this special opportunity to pray together in a larger community and to learn about the new aspects of our Code and Constitution.
This year’s retreat is the second in a four-year period focusing on the Beatitudes. We will focus on the second and third Beatitudes as they apply to our membership in the Order. The Order of Malta’s symbol is a white, eight-pointed cross. Each of the points of the cross symbolize one of the eight Beatitudes according to the Gospel of Matthew, as well as one of the eight foundational virtues of the Order: loyalty, piety, honesty, courage, honor and glory, contempt for death, solidarity towards the poor and the sick, and respect for the Church.
The Retreat will begin at 4:00 PM on Friday 5 December 2025 and end on Sunday 7 December at 1:30 PM. You may begin arriving on Friday at 2:00 PM. Dinner on Friday will be at 6:00 PM.
To register for the retreat, please complete the registration form at:
https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSeBmOuHnfw9TYNpKzWnt2K8uMeIcBFDcjTeayJ1xUVFTththA/viewform?usp=sharing&ouid=112496515789341454228
Please send your check, made out to “SMOM Northern VA”, to Paul Nasto, KMOb, 8804 Glade Hill Road, Fairfax, VA 22031, by 14 November 2025. (Please note that the NoVA Region is not set up to accept electronic payment for the Retreat.)
If you have any questions or problems with accessing the registration form please contact Lorrie at LBR79@MSN.COM.
Attendants Needed for Veneration of St. Thérèse of Lisieux November 23-24 Carmel of Port Tobacco
November 23 and 24, at the Carmel of Port Tobacco. Location of the Carmelite Monastery: Discalced Carmelite Nuns of the Caramel of Port Tobacco, 5678 Mount Carmel Road, La Plata, MD 20646-3625.
Prioress, Mother Marie Bernardina, O.C.D., has asked that the Order of Malta provide two attendants during the hours of veneration on those dates. Mother has asked Michael Schreyer to coordinate the scheduling of the Knights and Dames. We are asked to stand duty, in robes, for 2 hrs. They can arrange schedules so it would be 1/2 hr on, 1/2 hr off. Please contact Michael J. Schreyer for additional information and to schedule a time slot. Tel: 301-752-3113 or contact him at schreyer.mike@gmail.com.
Planning ahead: There will be a 3 day retreat in DC, 23-25 January at Gonzaga High School. Details pending.
For those planning ahead, There will be a 3 day retreat in DC, 23-25 January at Gonzaga High School. Details pending.
"Be it mine to practice charity towards my neighbors, especially the poor and sick."
Members and friends of the Order will visit with the Malta House residents on Saturday, October 4 from 10:00 AM to 11:30 AM. We welcome everyone to visit with the residents, to play Bingo and other board games that brighten their morning. If you can join us please contact Cheryl Hipp.
There is a special treat with blessing of the animals from 3-4 this Saturday!
Saturday, October 18, 8:15 AM to noon. Gift of Peace.
2800 Otis St., NE Washington DC
Please join us on Saturday, October 18 for our service to the Sisters of the Missionaries of Charity. Our regular service project includes doing whatever the Sisters need to help caring for the poor and the sick. The Mission is located at 2800 Otis Street NE, Washington, DC. Please arrive by 8:15 on that Saturday. Many thanks to our newly Invested Dame, Roxana Semorile who will assume leadership of this project this month and thank you to Monica who helped run this for the past year and a half! If you plan to attend, please contact Roxana Semorile.
Saturday, October 18, 8:30 AM, Gatekeepers Resource Club. Hagerstown, MD.
The Gatekeepers prison re-entry program is a successful program helping returning citizens reclaim their dignity by working, paying taxes, while volunteering and helping others who share life struggles. They are changing their lives as they start anew. Please come and accompany them on Saturday, October 4 and 18 as they continue on their journey to a new life of hope. We arrange carpooling from a spot inside the Beltway leaving at 8:30 AM for those who want to share a ride. To find out where to meet or if you have any questions please contact Diane Oakley
Bring Halloween cheer to the children and mothers on Saturday, October 25 between 1:00 PM and 3:00 PM. Come in costume! St. Ann's Center works with homeless women who have young children, providing housing and help to address life challenges and to move to self-sufficiency. St. Ann's Center is located at 4901 Eastern Avenue, Hyattsville, MD 20782.
Gently used or new children's Halloween costumes (infant to size 12) and items for the 25 Moms' Treat Bags are greatly appreciated. Their most requested items are: laundry detergent (scented), baby wipes, individually wrapped snacks, toothpaste, Dove soap bars, boxes of ziplock bags. Please contact Tricia Lloyd by email here or by phone at 202-345-2059 with any questions or if you need pick up of items need for the gift bags for the kids and moms.
Our ministry to the Wounded Warriors at Walter Reed needs about 10 volunteers each month. We provide a monthly dinner to the Wounded Warriors and their families with bingo and fellowship following the dinner. Our next dinner will be held on Tuesday, October 28 and starts at 4:30 PM. The dinner is held in the Wounded Warrior Transition Building at Walter Reed Medical Center. If you can help, please contact Barbara Ritschel by October 15 to allow time to get approval for base access.
We also started a new project to supply the Wounded Warrior "Lending Closet" with items needed for the injured service members and their families as they arrive and have nothing with them. If you would like to donate items, please contact Barbara. Currently the need is for: Keurig Pods, Ramen noodles, Cup of Soup, non-sugar snacks, canned foods such as tuna, soup, etc., and grocery gift cards. Thank you for your generosity. Please contact Barbara Ritschel at barbaraff@live.com with questions.
If you can help for even one day or on an ongoing basis please contact Ninochika Twitty at SHARE by calling (301) 864-3115 Ext. 7011. Volunteers are needed for bagging October 18 from 7-10 AM; and on October 24 from 9-11AM, and October 25 from 7-10 AM. All help is appreciated!
Volunteers are needed to prepare and enjoy dinner with the residents who recently returned from incarceration at Jubilee Housing's transitional housing facility in Adams Morgan. The next dinner will be on Tuesday, November 11. We will meet at the Annunciation Church parking lot on Mass. Avenue at 6:15 to carpool to Adams Morgan and dinner starts at 7:00 PM. As we have built relationships in recent months, the returning citizens share more engaged conversation with us. If interested in joining this rewarding ministry, please email Dorothy Zolandz for more information.
Announcements and Other Related Activities
Class of 2027 Application for Membership is Available.
The Federal Association of the Order of Malta announced that the application form for the Candidate Class of 2027 is available. You can access the application by clicking here. Sponsors of potential candidates should be working with their candidates as they prepare the form and secure the documents that need to be submitted. The application is due Friday, November 7, 2025, but applications may be submitted earlier once they are completed. You can reach out to the Montgomery County Regional Hospitaller Barbara Ritschel or to Maria Bisesi in the Federal Association Office, if you have any questions. I am happy to meet with any potential candidates for the Order.
New Prison Ministry Medal and Service Ribbon
Please apply for this special ribbon if you have been involved with prison ministry for the last 5-10 years. This new medal is recently approved by the Sovereign Council in dedication to those who have shown continuous and dedicated service to the prison ministry. Please look on the Order of Malta Website or contact Barbara for more information.
Also, we are in need of more penpals and those who will write greeting cards to prisons for the Holidays. All information is included. Please contact Mike McGarry, Doug Sandvig, or Barbara for more information! Let's all bring some hope to those behind bars and participate!
A Bridge of Hope
Holy Family Hospital Foundation
Wartime conditions have caused the Bethlehem Governorate to enact changes in the medical system and devise an emergency operating plan. This plan disallows patient service fees for NICU stays, placing the full cost of NICU care on the Hospital. In the event of a mass casualty, Holy Family Hospital would be assigned to deliver all babies in the region while continuing NICU operations.
Deliveries across the region have fallen since the war began. While there are fewer births, pregnancies are more complicated. Babies born since the war have an increasingly higher need for care with longer hospitalizations. Forty percent more babies are staying in the NICU for 50 days or more since last year.
Dr. George, Chief of Neonatology, ascribes the growing need for NICU care to the current situation. Ongoing economic distress has led to food insecurity, with pregnant women having one meal a day. Diets contain less variety due to higher cost of meats and vegetables, with many relying heavily on bread as a staple. Checkpoints and road closures discourage prenatal care. Poorer nutritional status coupled with increased anxiety have placed a disproportionate strain on pregnant women and their unborn children.
To meet the growing needs of the NICU, the Foundation is redoubling its efforts to help meet the funding gap caused by the need for more complicated care and the lack of patient fees.
In Bethlehem’s time of great need, Holy Family Hospital counts on you to help us provide the best care with the fewest barriers. Please help us be a bridge to the far side of war until peace prevails and pilgrimages resume.
AMB Michèle Bowe
Other Announcements:
Montgomery County Region Leadership:
Hospitaller: Barbara Ritschel, DM.
Spirituality: Linda Budney, DM.
Treasurer: Jim Bowe, KM.
Vocation Development: Martie Kendrick Kettmer, DM.
Communications Leader: Roxana Semorile, DM.
Past Hospitallers serving as special assistants and assisting in communication and other items: Joan Glasgow, DM and Gaby DeLeon, KM
Parish Monthly Mass and Parish Group Meetings:
"Give me the strength I need, to carry out this my resolve..."
Regularly scheduled Masses and times for spiritual discussions in our parishes help us grow our community and grow spiritually, especially as members of the Order of Malta. Please plan to attend a monthly Mass and meeting and pray with the community. Montgomery County and DC Regions each have 2 parish groups, but anyone is invited to any parish group! Please see which best works with your schedule.
For the Montgomery County Region:
Our Lady of Mercy/Little Flower/St. Barts/Our Lady of Lourdes:
Our first meeting is Wednesday, Sept. 10th after the 7 AM Mass at Our Lady of Mercy, in the Parish House. (Please note this location change).In keeping with our charism, the theme for this year is: Local Outreach to the Poor and the Sick. Each month we plan on having a speaker from a local charity or group that supports this theme. To help get us going in this spirit, we thought we’d start with a “view from the top.” Our speakers for the September meeting are Ernie Bono, President, Federal Association and Michael Stankewicz, Executive Director, Federal Association to give us a sense of what the whole Order is doing and how the various local initiatives fit into that larger picture.
Please join us in person and if unable to attend this meeting, it will also be available on zoom.
https://link.edgepilot.com/s/e2055512/cH518vHNIk6DVrF9hlmP_Q?u=https:
//us02web.zoom.us/j/89057655058?pwd=DO3vNgDrsblBqGxMJubbqriqHzDbOg.1
Meeting ID: 890 5765 5058
Passcode: 825697
Thanks to Matt Moore for his leadership the past few years. Going forward we are going to rotate coordinating duties for our Parish Malta Group (Our Lady of Mercy, St. Bart’s, Little Flower). The Mass and parish group meeting is the second Wednesday of the month with Mass at 7 AM at Our Lady of Mercy with the meeting to follow.
Contact:Joan Glasgow at glasgow778@gmail.com
Blessed Sacrament:
The parish group usually meets every second Saturday of the month, the next meeting will be September 13 with the meeting to follow after 8 AM Mass.
Contact: Margaret Melady at margmelady@yahoo.com
GIFT OF PEACE AND THE ORDER OF MALTA
By Shep Abel, KM
The Gift of Peace was established in 1986, when Mother Teresa opened a home for individuals living with HIV/AIDS in Washington, D.C. With the approval of Archbishop James Hickey, she was granted a year-to-year lease, at a nominal fee, on a property owned by Catholic Charities, located at 2800 Otis Street NE.
At the time, public fear surrounding HIV/AIDS was widespread and often fueled by misinformation. Understandably, some neighbors were concerned about potential contagion. However, those fears were eased, in part, by the location of the property, which is set back from the street and somewhat secluded.
With help from the Federal Association of the Order of Malta, which provided much of the initial furnishings, Gift of Peace officially opened its doors. The home originally consisted of two separate sections: one for men and one for women living with HIV/AIDS. A third section was later added to accommodate men who, while not HIV-positive, were still in need of care and support.
The Order of Malta’s Federal Association began actively supporting the home in 1988. A small group of volunteers from the Order committed to assisting residents directly, an ongoing, hands-on effort that became one of their key service projects. Around this same time, the house also became a residence for Missionaries of Charity sisters in their final year of formation, with roughly 25 sisters living and working there, including about 10 tertians (those in their third year of preparation before final vows).
Volunteers from the Order of Malta played a wide range of roles: answering phones, participating in prayers, serving meals, spending time with residents, and helping them get up and dressed in the mornings. In the early years, the home saw the deaths of three to four residents per month. Thankfully, with advances in HIV treatment, that number has significantly decreased; today, only a few residents pass away each year.
Our support from members of the Order of Malta Federal Association was temporarily halted during the COVID-19 pandemic, but was restarted so that we could continue our mission of bringing Christ to others and offering compassion and care, caring for the poorest of the poor. A group of members from the local Regions join once a month to accompany the residents through fellowship and prayer, or active assistance, and to help the sisters by cleaning rooms and bathrooms, making the beds for the residents, cleaning the Chapel, gardening, getting groceries, or any other help they need.
Click to see our work at Gift of Peace.
THE STORY OF MALTA HOUSE
A précis by Rosemary Casey Carter, DM, Born and Raised in Pittsburgh
In 1995 Rose Bente Lee, DM gave a million dollars to the Sovereign Military Order of Malta in honor of her husband. She wanted to build a home in Washington for the frail elderly. Through the efforts of Annelise FitzGerald, DM, the wife of the Hon. William FitzGerald, founder of the Federal Association, James Cardinal Hickey, Archbishop of Washington, who donated the land, and loans from the State of Maryland and Prince Georges County, Malta House was built. Mrs. Lee’s dream came true. While the house was being constructed Annelise gave the Malta House Committee an education on taking care of Our Lords the Poor. Once a month the committee of some sixteen met at the FitzGerald’s house for breakfast. It was an extraordinary experience to see so many plates of Eggs Benedict served at once! During breakfast she invited experts to brief us on every aspect of taking care of, and assisting, the elderly. What an opportunity for all of us! We met for over a year getting educated while we waited for the House to open.
Meanwhile, Victory Housing, the housing affiliate of the Archdiocese of Washington, was preparing to build and operate Malta House. All of the other houses run by Victory Housing were on the campus of a Catholic Parish, which would supply volunteers to assist the residents. In our case, since we had no church, the Order of Malta was to supply the volunteers.
The House was to have an interesting design of 15 bedrooms with baths in one wing with a matching wing of 15 bedrooms with baths on the other side and a garden in between the wings. In the center hyphen was a kitchen between the two wings servicing two living rooms and two dining rooms. This design gave us an opportunity to build the home on a more favorable financial basis than having rooms over one another on a second floor. With this arrangement we also were able to obtain a less complicated occupancy permit from the County. On the partial second floor two apartments were built for on-site staff. The plan of the house is completed with a library for large-print books and books on tapes and CDs, executive offices, supply rooms, a barber shop/beauty parlor, and finally a doctors examining room.
When the house was under construction, I was head of the Spiritual Life Committee. I called my dear friend, Msgr. Kenneth Roeltgen, the Rector of Mount Saint Mary’s Seminary, in Emmitsburg, Maryland. I told him about the project. He drove an hour and quarter each way that day from Emmitsburg Maryland to Malta House and thinking he would call me in a few days to see the House a-building, imagine my surprise when he called the next day!
”Irish, what do you really want?” he asked.
Without so much as a pause I coughed out, “Two seminarians from September to May to have lunch with the Residents and give a homily or Bible Study.”
He replied “On one condition. That you be their academic supervisor!”
Click to see our work at Malta House
ST. ANN’S INFANT AND MATERNITY HOME AND THE ORDER OF MALTA HISTORY
Written by Joan Glasgow
The Order of Malta, Federal Association, and St. Ann’s began their rich partnership in 1991. In that year, the Order founded an Auxiliary and tasked the newest members of the Auxiliary with finding works throughout the District, Maryland and Virginia that
fit within the framework of the Order’s mission.
Several charities were vetted by the then board of the Auxiliary, but the goal was to provide ongoing support for charities and very few one-time projects made the cut. A number of those organizations, such as Christmas in April, Share, Children’s Inn at NIH
and of course, St. Ann’s Infant and Maternity Home were exactly what the board was looking for.
Sheila Miller Dougherty was the first to run St. Ann’s Infant and Maternity Home as a project for the Auxiliary. The first party was an Easter party at St. Ann’s which allowed us to interact with the residents at St. Ann’s. The members of the Auxiliary found
it rewarding and more parties were planned. During that first year, we had a Halloween party, Christmas Party, Valentine’s Day Party, Easter Party and usually a barbecue in summer at Candy Cane City.
Each event provided the growing base of Auxiliary members a chance to interact with the residents of St. Ann’s who were primarily children and who thoroughly enjoyed each party.
The Board of the Auxiliary tried to encourage the Knights and Dames to join us in these events and that added to numbers with a goal being to have one of our participants for every two residents of St. Ann’s. Sister Josephine, who ran St. Ann’s at that time,
found our parties and organization to be helpful for the residents.
Chrissy Page assumed leadership of the project in 1999 and expanded the scope by inviting local high schools who needed service hours to join us for the various events held.
During that year, one of the Knight’s became our ongoing Santa at Christmas and one of the Dame’s assumed responsibilities for the gifts that each child could request from their list.
In 2017, Tricia Lloyd, DM took over the planning and continued the good work and expanded support by inviting Miss DC and Miss Teen DC to our Christmas Party each year. The party’s continued through Covid by having an outside parade to continue the fun.
As we continue to host and grow the parties at St. Ann’s, the future holds a great outlook for the partnership between St. Ann’s and the Order of Malta. It provides the Order with a great chance for direct volunteering. The volunteers from the Order that show
up when called upon, create a wonderful environment for the residents at St. Ann’s and are providing a positive influence on the next generation.
Coming soon additional historys:
Wounded Warrior, Mercy Clinic, Prison ministry and more!
Barbara Ritschel, DM
Regional Hospitaller
About
In 2004 it was decided to split the very large Washington metropolitan area into two smaller regions: Washington, DC and Montgomery County, Maryland.
Upcoming Event
28th Benefit to Support Saint Luke Institute
Monthly Parish Groups
Blessed Sacrament: Meets second Saturday, Mass at 8AM with meeting to follow.
Our Lady of Mercy/Little Flower/St. Bart's/Our Lady of Lourdes:
The parish group usually meets on the second Wednesday of the month, in the Enzler Room at Our Lady of Mercy Church after the 7 AM Mass. The next meeting is in Sept. 10.
Contact: Joan Glasgow at glasgow778@gmail.come
To view the 2025 calendar of events. Click here
Hospitaller Succession
John Lenczowski: 1992-1995-1998 (Combined MoCo/DC Region)
Michèle Bowe: 1998-2001, 2001-2004 (Combined MoCo/DC Region)
Lita Tracey: 2004-2007, 2007-2010
Michael Conley: 2010-2013
Joan Glasgow: 2013-2016
Joan and Chip Glasgow: 2016-2019
Chip Glasgow and Gaby Deleon: 2019-2022
Barbara Ritschel: 2022-2025
Sovereign Military Hospitaller Order of St John of Jerusalem of Rhodes and of Malta
Federal Association, U.S.A.
1730 M Street, NW | Suite 403 | Washington, DC 20036
202.331.2494 | Email Us