The Somewhat Different Flat Share

In the heart of Munich you can find us in the “Commandery of young Malteser” (Kommende junger Malteser). It’s a shared flat where seven young people between 20 and 32 live. You might think it's a normal, somewhat crowded flat share but appearances are deceptive.

There are some significant differences such as the Chapel in one of the apartments. Another difference is that Fra' Georg Lengerke lives in the house. When he's not working elsewhere for the Order of Malta, he celebrates Holy Mass with us every day. Our little community was founded by the German Association of the Order of Malta and by the Youth Group of the Association in 2018 so as to have a place of Maltese charism where young people could come together, live together, pray together, grow in faith and get invested in the service for the sick and the poor – a place to live and experience a "Melitense" way of life.

All of us live a normal life with a job, studies or professional training, but beyond that we have common prayer times. It is very important to us to open our big and comfortable flats to all friends of the Commandery and we have weekly evenings with theological or philosophical discussions, prayer, Mass or adoration, followed by drinks in our common room. But also on all other nights of the week, you will always find an open door, a beer and somebody to talk to, if you knock. As for the service: Besides our weekly afternoon playing with kids from our area, we try to help with Melitense projects in Munich whenever possible.

Friendship plays a major role for us - friendship with God, with the people around us and with each other. Life in the community is a great help here. "Without the common prayer and the discussions in the Commandery, it would be much more difficult for me to pray regularly and to dig deeper with the questions of faith," says Elias, one of the residents. "At the same time, things are not as idyllic as they sound," laughs Agnes. "We can also argue about politics, religion and the mess in the kitchen. Different things are important for us, we come from different cultural backgrounds and don't always agree on matters of faith either. What unites us is that we want to be serious about friendship with God and the people around us."

The Melitense family has many great places of service. To that, we want to add a Melitense place to live. It's the serious attempt of very different young people to live the life and charism of the Order of Malta in a new way. If ever you are in Munich: Come and see!

If you want to find out more about us, then check out our website www.kommende-junger-malteser.de

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