Sovereign Military Order of Malta
The Order is composed of over 12,000
Knights worldwide. They have permanent
observer status at the United Nations,
embassies or representatives in 96 countries,
and receive some very powerful world
political figures as can be seen from
their
photographic gallery. You
can also get more information by reading
their
FAQ or
by reading their
History.
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December 5,1999--Valletta |
Over eight hundred members
of the Sovereign Military
Order of St. John of Jerusalem
(or of Rhodes or of Malta
SMOM), from various countries
assembled on the island
for a three-day "pilgrimage"
which launched the ninth
centenary celebrations of
the Order. A highlight of
this unprecedented gathering
of Knights (and Dames) in
Malta took place on December
5th with the signing of
an agreement between the
Maltese government and the
Sovereign Military Order
of Malta (the Order of St.
John). Through this agreement,
the upper part of the historical
fort of St. Angelo
(the victorious Fort of
the
Great
Siege of 1565
against the Turks) was turned
over to the Order on a ninety-nine-year
lease. The agreement binds
the Order to
restore and maintain
the fort while Malta will
retain its sovereign rights
over the fort.
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March 1, 2005--BBC History
Magazine |
The Maltese government recently
gave Sovereign Military
Order of Malta extra-territorial
rights to once again carry out
its sovereign functions in what,
during much of the 16th century,
was the Hospitaller Grand Master's
palace in Valletta - Fort Angelo.
The
Order is now busy restoring
it, and for the first
time over 200 years the Hospitallers'
Crusader period battle flag
flutters over the ancient fortress.
After the loss of the island
of Malta in 1798, the Order
settled permanently in Rome,
Italy, in 1834. Its two headquarters,
granted with extraterritoriality,
are the Palazzo Malta in Via
dei Condotti 68 - where the
Grand Master resides and Government
Bodies meet - and the Villa
Malta on the Aventine. The latter
hosts the Grand Priory of Rome,
the Embassy of the Order to
the Holy See and the Embassy
of the Order to the Italian
Republic. You can read more
details
here or
you can visit their
official web site or
watch this
video.
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