Order of Malta opens Gaza clinic, aids war-torn Ukraine, sends teams to Venezuela
The Sovereign Military Order of Malta’s humanitarian outreach assisted 9 million people in 2025 across conflict- and disaster-affected regions, including Gaza and Ukraine, and has launched an emergency response in Venezuela.
Speaking for the nearly 1,000‑year‑old humanitarian order, Josef Blotz, its grand hospitaller, told “EWTN News Nightly” about “the sobering degree of need” and the “requirements amidst destruction” in Gaza after the Israel‑Hamas conflict.
As grand hospitaller, Blotz supervises the order’s health and social affairs offices. He has served in the position since February 2025.
Blotz oversaw the opening of a health clinic in Gaza City on June 22 in partnership with the Latin Patriarchate of Jerusalem. Calling it an “honor” to open the facility alongside Cardinal Pierbattista Pizzaballa, the Latin patriarch of Jerusalem, Blotz said it was “a wonderful opportunity to live up to the order’s charism” by serving “the poor, the sick, and the vulnerable” in Gaza City.
“Itʼs very important for me to outline that we are not only looking after our Catholic people in this parish or of the Christians,” he said of the clinic located on the premises of Holy Family Church in Gaza City. “We are absolutely ready to help everyone irrespective of ethnicity or religion.”
Order provides aid in Ukraine
Blotz said of Ukraine’s humanitarian situation amid its war with Russia that “the crisis is ongoing.”
Active in about 74 locations in Ukraine, the order’s work in the country includes caring for orphans and children as well as wounded soldiers, Blotz said.
The order provides prosthetic limbs for soldiers injured during combat, producing the prosthetics “with the help of artificial intelligence,” according to Blotz.
“We are modern by tradition,” Blotz said. “And this is something you can witness in Ukraine where we really try — and actually achieved — making a difference in people’s lives.”
Venezuela mission assessed
Blotz said the order is preparing to send an assessment team to Venezuela “to find out where the need is.”
“We are very experienced in setting up activities like these not only in crisis areas but also in terms of disaster-relief operations,” he said, noting that he will know more in the coming days about how the order will lend its support.
“We have to understand the situation and also set up networks and partnerships,” he said. “Because together with others, the Church, Caritas, and many other governmental organizations, we would be even more successful.”
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