Information service of the Pontifical Mission Societies since 1927
MI
Rome (Agenzia Fides) - They are Brother Carlo Mangione and Brother José Carlos Bermejo Higuera. The two Camillians, non-clerical religious "brothers", have been appointed provincial superiors of the Order of Ministers of the Sick (MI) respectively of the Sicilian-Neapolitan province and of the province of Spain. According to the note sent to Agenzia Fides by the Camillian Communications Office, on June 20 Father Pedro Tramontin, recently elected Superior General of the Order (see Fides, 13/5/2022), after obtaining the written permission of the Dicastery for Religious, made the appointments. Brother Carlo Mangione, General Director of the Santa Maria della Pietà Hospital in Casoria, is now in charge of the Casa della Speranza in the municipality of Naples. The structure is a lay Christian association inspired by the example of St. Camillus and the Camillians in favor of disadvantaged families, women victims of violence, the sick, the poor, marginalized and homeless.
For his part, Brother José Carlos Bermejo Higuera is the Director of the Humanization Center for Health in Madrid. The appointment was made possible following a dispensation that Pope Francis introduced into the code of canon law on May 18, 2022. The Camillians were among the first to request written permission from the Dicastery for Religious to appoint a non-clerical religious brother as provincial superior. In this regard, it is worth highlighting the note in the Constitution of the MI that says: "Our Order, listed by the Church among the clerical institutes, is made up of people united by the bond of profession, called according to tradition, fathers and brothers , who as religious tend to the same purpose, they are of equal dignity and have equal rights and obligations, except those derived from sacred order. Those in perpetual vows enjoy active and passive voice". (IP/AP) (Agenzia Fides, 22/6/2022)
