By Florida Catholic staff - Florida Catholic
Photographer: COURTESY | Sergio Alsina
Fra' Matthew Festing, center, poses with Juan Jose Calvo, president of the Cuban Association of the Order of Malta, and his wife, Valentina, standing, amid the poor and elderly from the Little Havana area who come daily to one of the association's Miami projects, the Casa de Malta on the grounds of St. John Bosco Parish.
Photographer: COURTESY | Sergio Alsina
Juan Jose Calvo, left, president of the Cuban Association of the Order of Malta, poses with the worldwide Grand Master, Fra' Matthew Festing, center, and the Cuban Association's vice preisdent, Juan O'Naghten, during a reception and dinner at the Riviera Country Club in Coral Gables.
Photographer: COURTESY | Sergio Alsina
Msgr. Tomas Marin, chaplain of the Cuban Association of the Order of Malta, poses in front of a sign announcing one of their Miami projects, the Casa de Malta on the grounds of St. John Bosco Parish in Miami. The Casa de Malta provides meals and social and spiritual activities for poor and mostly elderly residents of Little Havana.
MIAMI | Fra' Matthew Festing, Prince and Grand Master of the worldwide Order of Malta, visited Miami Nov. 10 and 11. After sharing a dinner with members of the Cuban Association of the order, he visited one of their projects, the Casa de Malta at St. John Bosco Parish in Miami.
The Casa de Malta provides hot lunches every weekday to more than 60 low-income residents of the Little Havana neighborhood where St. John Bosco is located. It also is a place where those who attend, many of them elderly, can works on crafts, learn languages and take part in spiritual activities.
On Tuesdays, nurses from Florida International University's post-graduate program come by to check on their health, including blood pressure and diabetes. Those who need to see a doctor are referred to the St. John Bosco Clinic on the grounds of Corpus Christi Church in Miami, another project for uninsured and underserved populations sponsored by the Cuban Association and the Sisters of St. Joseph of St. Augustine. The clinic is staffed by volunteer doctors from Mercy Hospital in Miami, some of whom are members of the order.
Fra' Festing, a 66-year-old native of the United Kingdom, is the order's 79th Grand Master. The Order of Malta dates back to 1113 and maintains diplomatic relations with 100 nations as well as the European Union. It also retains permanent observer status at the United Nations.
Knights and Dames of Malta commit themselves to defending the Catholic faith and helping the poor and the sick. The order sponsors humanitarian, social and medical projects in 120 countries.
The Cuban Association of the Order of Malta was established in 1952 in Cuba and re-established in 1993 in the U.S. In addition to its projects in Miami, the association also sponsors medical missions in the Dominican Republic and works with the Church in Cuba to support more than 60 parish-based nutritional centers.
During his visit to St. John Bosco, Fra' Festing also celebrated Mass with members of the Cuban Association. Msgr. Tomás Marín, the association's chaplain, presided at the Mass.
Photographer: COURTESY | Sergio Alsina
Fra' Matthew Festing, worldwide Grand Master of the Order of Malta, poses with volunteers from the order's Cuban Association at one of their Miami projects, the Casa de Malta on the grounds of St. John Bosco Parish. The Casa de Malta provides meals and social and spiritual activities for poor and mostly elderly residents of Little Havana.
