Massimo Ellul: The man behind the international Lazarite 30th anniversary celebrations

The Hospitaller Order of St. Lazarus of Jerusalem is a globally recognised confraternity with a rich charitable legacy. Founded thirty years ago in London’s oldest parish of St. Bartholomew the Great in Smithfield, this international community of Hospitallers has grown worldwide from strength to strength.

Through the St. Lazarus Foundation, and other similar registered associations within 71 jurisdictions, this chivalric organisation has proved itself a worthy heir of the medieval Hospitaller order, constantly underlining the philanthropic efforts and initiatives under its care and patronage globally.

The Hospitaller Order of St. Lazarus of Jerusalem is registered under the United Nations and active in several international and European institutions, such as the European Disability Forum and Inclusion International.

It now boasts more than 15,000 members worldwide and includes a who’s who of prominent philanthropists, public servants, social workers and medical professionals, entrepreneurs, politicians, and nobility from various countries. These blend harmoniously with thousands of volunteers from all walks of life, all dedicated to supporting the vulnerable and underprivileged.

For the past seventeen years, all this activity has been coordinated from the Order’s Grand Chancery in Malta. In 2008, the Grand Officers of the Order appointed Massimo Ellul as the Grand Chancellor of the Order, taking on the responsibility for the Order’s administration and expansion, together with its philanthropic and social initiatives worldwide.

“It was no small feat. When I took over in 2008, total membership of the Order was around five hundred strong, with a presence in some fourteen countries,” states Dr Ellul. “Today, the Maltese branch of the Order alone boasts much bigger numbers of engaged members and associates than that.”

Considering the Order’s constitution prohibits its members and volunteers from receiving any form of remuneration for their Hospitaller work, this was not a simple accomplishment. But Dr Ellul was brought up being highly active within the voluntary sector locally and abroad.

He served as President of the national students’ movement for five years and represented the International Union of Students. He was also elected to the national youth federation (the precursor to KNZ) and held important offices within both the youth and student branches of the Malta Labour Party, later also within the Labour Party itself. Later, he was elected General Secretary of the Malta Federation of Organisations for Persons with Disability (MFOPD) and held the position of Chairman of the Malta Association for Supported Employment.

Moreover, Dr Ellul successfully pursued a specialised career as a management and marketing consultant with his management organisation operating from Malta with sister offices abroad. His consultancy expertise in the hospitality industry, sought out by various government agencies from countries as diverse as the United Arab Emirates, Slovenia, Hungary, Italy and Scotland, inevitably also led to his managing hotel operations in Malta and abroad. These milestone entrepreneurial achievements were the backdrop for Dr Ellul’s simultaneous philanthropic and Hospitaller initiatives.

The office of Grand Chancellor within the Order’s structures is the second most important position. The Supreme Grand Prior of the Order is the head of the organisation worldwide and Dr Ellul has high words of praise for the Order’s present and past leaders.

“I was fortunate enough to be shown the ropes by the first head of the Order, Richard Comyns of Ludston. A proud Scottish blueblood, Richard was a fount of energy and always backed my proposals and initiatives when it came to the expansion of the Order,” stated Dr. Ellul.

“Archduke Sandor Habsburg-Lothringen, the present Supreme Grand Prior, is younger and thus more mobile and comes from a rational, engineering background. It makes life easier because he immediately grasps the crux of any subject or situation under discussion and focuses on its execution and success.”

The 30^th anniversary celebrations of the Order were overseen by an international Hospitaller committee chaired by Dr Ellul. Events, gatherings and investitures were organised in various countries throughout this year, including Austria, Italy, Luxembourg, Germany, Puerto Rico, Peru and the United States of America.

The festivities culminated in Malta during the months of October. Courtesy visits were held by the highest officials of the Order to the nation’s leaders, including HE the President of the Republic of Malta Myriam Spiteri Debono.

The officers of the Order also pledged to HE the President their annual commitment to aid the Community Chest Fund in its impeccable charitable programmes.

A commemorative stone edifice marking the milestone anniversary was officially unveiled by the Archduke of Austria Karl von Habsburg and the Mayor of M’Scala Mario Calleja in St Anne’s Public Garden in front of the M’Scala parish church.

The highlight of these celebrations was the solemn investiture of the Order and the ensuing investiture luncheon. Four hundred members, officers and their guests, from 15 different countries, attended the investiture service. It was opened and blessed by HE the Most Reverend Bishop Giovanni Cefai of the Prelacy of Santiago Apóstol de Huancané, in Peru, who is also a member of the Order.

The ritual and rites of passage were overseen by Sandor Habsburg-Lothringen, Archduke of Austria, together with the Grand Chancellor, Dr Ellul, and other Grand Officers. A number of international public figures from politics, business, and the arts attended the ceremony.

“I sincerely believe that if one does not give in life, one cannot receive. It sounds silly, but I have always been brought up by my mentors to care for the downtrodden and to assist the vulnerable. It is inbuilt and, most importantly, so fulfilling,” stated Dr Ellul. “We rarely go around publicising our charitable initiatives, because the first thing we impart to new members anywhere in the world is that one does charity because one wishes to do it, not because one wishes to be seen doing it.”