Benefactors of the Order in India

Introduction

The Hospitaller Order of St. John of God is a mendicant Order and has a long tradition of requesting alms from people to provide care and to meet the other needs of our patients in our hospitals and centres. Our founder, St. John of God, set an example for us in this area. He used to go out to the people and ask for alms for his patients in the hospital who were very poor. Some people gave him money while others gave him food items, clothes, etc. He visited the rich, and even the King of his country, and requested help to pay his debts. At the end of his life he entrusted his unsettled debts to the Bishop and died peacefully.

Our Valuable Benefactors

Our Order in India has been elevated to the status of a Province from that of a General Delegation in 2005. We are obliged to remember all our benefactors who contributed to the development of the Order in India. We are very much indebted to them for their generous contributions in the past 36 years for the setting up and maintaining of various centres and institutions for the sick, the poor and the needy.

First of all, we would like to remember and thank our Mother Province in Frankfurt for its initiative and contribution to establishing institutions like Hospitals, Homes for the Aged, Dispensaries, etc. in India. With regard to our Mother Province, we would like to remember the late Bro. Makarius Klaholz for his contribution to the development of the Order in India.

We can say the same to our former General Delegate Bro. Andreas Hellermann who supported our various projects and had met the expenses of the Formation House at Poonamallee for many years. We gratefully remember Bro. Alfonse M. Höring who has been indefatigable in collecting money and making great efforts for the development of the Order in India. Some of his initiatives include the ‘Nachrichten’ (Newsletter) that is published twice a year. Through this he keeps the German-speaking benefactors of the Order informed of the growth, development and other happenings of the Order in India. Also his “Slide Show Presentations” in the various centres of the Bavarian and Austrian Provinces have raised funds for our works in India. We are very indebted to him for his past and present help and support.

We are very much indebted to our General Curia for their material and spiritual help and the guidance and support from the beginning of the foundation in India.

The Mother Province established a funding organization called “Indien Verein” to raise money for our various activities of hospitality in India. Bro. Michael Mockenhaupt was the first president of the Verein and he collected a lot of money for St. John’s Hospital, the first Nursing School and Pratheeksha Bhavan (all at Kattappana), land purchases and the first Old Age Home at Poonamallee, etc. The Indien Verein continues to help and support many of our projects. Mr. Cyriac Mundackatharappel is the present president and Mr. Hans Schwertfeger is the Treasurer of the Verein and both of them have carried out this service for many years without any remuneration. Among the other members of the Verein we would like to acknowledge and thank Mrs. Ani Kröner, Mr. Joseph Kröner, Mr. Anton Normann and Mr. Franz Veigl.

Mrs. Ani and Mr. Joseph Kröner have contributed substantial amounts of money for many years to our various projects in India. The project for AIDS patients in Trichy was fully financed by them. We are very much indebted to the Kröner family and we express here our gratitude for their goodwill and generosity.

Then, within the Order, we feel a great debt to our Austrian and Bavarian Provinces, especially in the persons of the late Bro. Florentin Langthaler, Bro. Wolfgang Mösslacher, Bro. Paulus Kohler, Bro. Donatus Wiedermann and Bro. Rudolf Knopp who have led their Provinces to contribute substantial amounts to our various projects. The Austrian Province opted for India as the focus of their mission activities from the beginning of the foundation of the Order in India. St. John’s Hospital, St. John’s School of Nursing, New Casualty and Theater Complex, Generalate of the Sisters of Charity of St. John of God, help for the maintenance of the Pratheeksha Bhavan at Kattappana are only a few that could be mentioned. In the same way the Bavarian Province has helped complete the project of St. John of God Center at Velloor (for persons who are intellectually disabiled), the Provincialate at Poonamallee and many other projects – including the formation of the Novices and Pre-postulants.

With gratitude we remember late Bro. Michael Mockenhaupt for founding the “Khandwa Mission” to support our works in Khandwa. He also supported various projects at Poonamallee, Kattappana and Velloor. We remember with love and gratitude the following persons and institutions who help especially the Centre at Velloor (Kerala): from Germany: Mrs. Mira Mary Balfanz (Schwetzinger), Miss. Christine Reichl (Dorfen), Ms. Daniela und Torsten (Weiding), Mrs. Daniela Stefan Nierychlo (Dülmen), Fr. Albert Hennegriff (Heidelberg), Dr. Christa Kinzler (Oftersheim), Family Machado Michael (Eppelheim), Family Baumhold Eva & Bernhard (Schwetzinger), Mr. Siegfried Zeitler (Stamsried), Family Seitz (Regensburg), Michaela Jungbauer (Kernenrommelshausen), Mrs. Tresa Reinhold (Helmstadt-Bargen), and the Behinderte Einrichtung der Barmherzige Brüder (Reichenbach); from Kerala: Mr. James Mathai Mannoothara (Kattappana), St. Sebastian’s Parish (Ayarkunnam), Lion’s Club (Ayarkunnam) and Parents & Teachers Association (St. John of God Special School, Velloor).

We remember with deep gratitude the MISSIO (Deutsche Katholischer Missionsrat) for their support for the development of our Province.

We also express our gratitude to Fr. Norbert Schmidt Weller and Mrs. Schmidt von Hoffe of the parish of Oberursel in Germany who help and support various projects in India, especially the Khandwa Mission.

Thanks must also go to Rev. Fr. Ernst Schmedding, the parish priest of Fulda (Germany), and Fr. Konrad Hoffmann from Püttlingen (Frankfurt) for their many years of connection and contributions to our various projects in India. We appreciate their goodwill and generosity.

The relationship and the contributions of Dr. Leo Peschel of Austria, especially to the Khandwa Mission, are gratefully remembered.

Then we must remember ‘NEUE BILD POST” for their various contributions – such as the construction of the Home for the Aged at Poonamallee, construction of houses for poor families, sponsorship for the education of children, etc.

We remember with love and gratitude the Australian Province that helped St. John of God Centre at Velloor and sends Brothers to help us with classes, retreats, etc.

It gives us joy to remember and thank the different organizations and Provinces of the Order (including the Spanish, Australian, English, Irish, Korean and Vietnamese Provinces) for their timely help in occasions like Tsunami Relief, etc. The Order’s organizations, such as Juan Ciudad (NGO), the Asia Pacific Inter-Provincial Commission (APIPC) were amongst those who facilitated that help coming to our Indian people through us.

Thanks are due also to our valuable Co-workers from the Provinces of Austria, Bavaria and the (former) Rhine for their contributions and efforts to collect funds through organizing ‘Bazaars’ and other activities in their hospitals and other centers.

We remember and thank the organization ‘One World’ for its help towards the education of poor children.

We wish to thank the Propaganda Fede in Rome for the financial assistance it gave to the formation of our Novices.

We like to thank in a special way Mrs. Irmi Ehrenreich for her continued help for the education of the poor children, support for the Aged Home and constructing houses for the poor families.

We thank the different NGOs who conducted free plastic re-constructive surgery camp at St. John’s Hospital, Kattappana, especially the ‘Operation Smile Italia Onlus’ team led by Dr. Fabio Massimo Abenavoli. Interplast - Germany - is conducting similar camps at St Richard Pampuri Hospital & Reasearch Centre at Khandwa in Madhya Pradesh from 2013 onwards. The team is led by Mrs. Barbara Dünzel.

The Christoffel Blinden Mission of Germany is gratefully remembered for its long-term association and support to our eye department at St. John’s Hospital at Kattappana.

We remember with gratitude the Kröner Foundation of Munich for its assistance to St. John's Hospital, Kattappana. Our thanks to Professor Dr. J.G. Wechsler from München for his service and contributions to St. John's Hospital, Kattappana. We would like to acknowledge with gratitude all our local benefactors like all the merchants of Kattappana for their monthly contribution for the Pratheeksha Bhavan there, the Rotary Club and Lions Club of Kattappana, Mr. A. George Samraj of Adampakam, Chennai (who has never missed sending his monthly contribution since 1999).

Above all we like to thank all our various benefactors from Germany, Austria and other countries, for their great generosity and goodwill. They have contributed such a lot of money for our various projects through regular donations, sponsorships, and housing schemes for poor families since the beginning of the Order in India in 1969. Through their generous help we were able to construct more than 3,500 houses in various parts of India. Many children are getting financial help for their education and are thus enabled to lead independent lives and support their families.

Not to be forgotten are the contributions from our different doctors, staff, students and patients. The various helps received from the different congregations and other friends who are around our communities and centres are gratefully remembered. Our sincere appreciation and thanks to the CMI Fathers, especially of the Provinces of Kottayam and Muvattupuzha and to the Capuchin Congregation for making priests available as chaplains to our Kattappana community and hospital. Here, in a special way we remember the great help we receive from the Rev. Fathers of the Sacred Heart Seminary in Poonamallee.

Finally we wish to thank each and everyone who has contributed materially or spiritually to the development of the Order in India. We will remain forever indebted to all our benefactors, well-wishers and friends for their love and concern for the Order and its Works in India. May God bless them all abundantly for their kindness and generosity and may they find joy and happiness in their lives.