Brothers of Mercy elect new Prior General

The Brothers of Mercy of St John of God have a new Prior General. The 53-year-old Brother Pascal Ahodegnon was elected to head the order on All Saints' Day at the General Chapter in Czestochowa, Poland, as the community announced. Ahodegnon was born in Benin and has been a member of the order's leadership, the General Council, since 2012. The newly elected Superior General, who completed his medical and surgical studies in Milan, joined the order in 1994.

"I would like to thank you all for giving me the opportunity to be your servant. I am sure that, with your help and God's, we will work together to spread Hospitallers throughout the world," said Ahodegnon after his election. He replaces the Spaniard Jesus Etayo Arrondo, who has headed the order since 2012. The General Chapter is still in session until Thursday.

The Brothers of Mercy of St John of God currently have 965 members in 18 provinces on all inhabited continents. In Germany, there is the Bavarian Province, to which 17 brothers belong, including one novice. It runs several clinics and facilities for the disabled with more than 11,000 employees. The community has been active in Bavaria since 1622. The first facility was the monastery and hospital in Sankt Wolfgang an der Donau. In addition to the Brothers of Mercy of St John of God, two other religious communities with a similar name are active in Germany: the Brothers of Mercy of Maria Hilf, based in Trier, and the Brothers of Mercy of Montabaur. (KNA)