View source for Sovereign Military Order of Malta

{{Short description|Catholic lay religious order}}
{{Hatnote group|
{{About|the modern Catholic military order|its medieval predecessor|Knights Hospitaller|the period of Malta under its rule|Hospitaller Malta}}
{{for|the unrelated Republic of Malta|Malta}}
{{Infobox country
| conventional_long_name = Sovereign Military Hospitaller Order of Saint John of Jerusalem, of Rhodes and of Malta
| common_name            = the Sovereign Military Order of Malta
| native_name            = {{resize|80%|{{native name|it|Sovrano Militare Ordine Ospedaliero di San Giovanni di Gerusalemme, di Rodi e di Malta}}}}<br />{{resize|80%|{{native name|la|Supremus Militaris Ordo Hospitalarius Sancti Ioannis Hierosolymitani, Rhodiensis et Melitensis}}}}
| image_flag             = Flag of the Sovereign Military Order of Malta.svg
| image_coat             = Coat of arms of the Sovereign Military Order of Malta (variant).svg
| symbol_type            = Coat of arms
| image_map              = 
| motto                  = {{nowrap|{{native phrase|la|Tuitio fidei et obsequium pauperum|nolink=on}}}}<br />"Defence of the faith and assistance to the poor"
| anthem                 = {{native name|la|[[Ave Crux Alba]]|nolink=on}}<br />"Hail, Thou White Cross"<br>
| capital                = [[Rome]] ([[Palazzo Malta]] {{coord|41|54|19|N|12|28|50|E|type:landmark_region:MT|display=inline,title}} and [[Villa del Priorato di Malta]] {{coord|41|53|01|N|12|28|39|E|region:IT_type:landmark_source:kolossus-nlwiki|display=inline}})
| official_languages     = [[Italian language|Italian]]<ref name="constitution">{{cite book |date=3 September 2022 |title=Carta Costituzionale e Codice |url=https://www.orderofmalta.int/wp-content/uploads/2022/09/Sovrano-Ordine-di-Malta-Carta-Costituzionale-e-Codice-2022-2.pdf |location=Rome |publisher=Sovereign Military Order of Malta |access-date= 3 September 2022}} Also available in English as [https://www.orderofmalta.int/wp-content/uploads/2022/10/CONSTITUTIONAL-CHARTER.pdf Constitutional Charter].</ref>{{rp|Constitution Article 7}}
| religion               = [[Catholic Church|Catholicism]]
| leader_title1          = [[Grand Master of the Knights Hospitaller|Prince & Grand Master]]
| leader_name1           = [[John T. Dunlap]]
| leader_title2          = {{nowrap|[[Commander (order)|Grand Commander]]}}
| leader_name2           = [[Emmanuel Rousseau]]
| leader_title3          = [[Chancellor|Grand Chancellor]]
| leader_name3           = [[Riccardo Paternò di Montecupo]]
| leader_title4          = [[Knights Hospitaller|Grand Hospitaller]]
| leader_name4           = [[Josef D. Blotz]]
| leader_title5          = [[#Organisation|Receiver of the Common Treasure]]
| leader_name5           = [[Francis J. Vassallo]]
| sovereignty_type       = [[Sovereignty|Sovereign subject]] of [[international law]]
| established_event1     = Establishment of the [[Knights Hospitaller]]
| established_date1      = {{circa}} {{start date and age|1099}}
| established_event2     = [[Pie postulatio voluntatis|Papal recognition]]
| established_date2      = 1113
| established_event3     = [[Kingdom of Cyprus|Cyprus]]
| established_date3      = 1291–1310
| established_event4     = [[Hospitaller Rhodes|Rhodes]]
| established_date4      = 1310–1523
| established_event5     = [[Hospitaller Malta|Malta]]
| established_date5      = 1530–1798
| established_event6     = [[Order of Saint John (Bailiwick of Brandenburg)|Division]]
| established_date6      = 1805–1812
| established_event7     = [[Palazzo Malta|Seat in Rome]]
| established_date7      = 1834–present
| area_km2               = 0
| area_rank              = 
| area_sq_mi             = <!--Do not remove per [[WP:MOSNUM]]--> 0
| population_estimate    = 13,191 members (2023)<ref name="ariccia">Gran Priorato di Lombardia e Venezia. [https://www.ordinedimaltaitalia.org/sites/malta/malta/files/news/files/Atti%20del%20Capitolo%20Generale%202023.pdf ''Atti approvati dal Capitolo Generale Straordinario, Ariccia, 25–29 gennaio 2023''], 18.</ref>{{rp|p. 38}}<br />39 vowed members (33 knights; 6 chaplains)<ref name="ariccia" />{{rp|p. 18}}<br />3 citizens<ref name="citizens">{{cite book |title=Report from Practically Nowhere |url=https://archive.org/details/reportfrompracti00sack |url-access = registration |first= John |last=Sack |year = 1959 |publisher=Harper |page=140 |quote=as part of the bargain only three men{{spaced ndash}}the grand master, the lieutenant grand master, and the chancellor{{spaced ndash}}could be citizens there. The other S.M.O.M.ians were to be citizens of the country they lived in."}}</ref>
| currency               = [[Maltese scudo]]
| currency_code          = 
| time_zone              = 
| utc_offset             = 
| utc_offset_DST         = 
| time_zone_DST          = 
| official_website       = {{URL|https://www.orderofmalta.int/|orderofmalta.int}}
}}

The '''Sovereign Military Order of Malta''' ('''SMOM'''), officially the '''Sovereign Military Hospitaller Order of Saint John of Jerusalem, of Rhodes and of Malta''',{{efn|{{langx|it|Sovrano Militare Ordine Ospedaliero di San Giovanni di Gerusalemme, di Rodi e di Malta}}; {{langx|la|Supremus Militaris Ordo Hospitalarius Sancti Ioannis Hierosolymitani, Rhodiensis et Melitensis}}}} and commonly known as the '''Order of Malta''' or the '''Knights of Malta''', is a [[Catholic Church|Catholic]] [[Catholic laity|lay]] [[Religious order (Catholic)|religious order]], traditionally of a [[military order (religious society)|military]], [[chivalry|chivalric]], and [[nobility|noble]] nature.<ref>{{cite web |url = http://www.orderofmalta.int/the-order-and-its-institutions/225/mission/?lang=en |author=Sovereign Military Order of Malta |title=Mission |website=Orderofmalta.int |access-date=12 April 2016 |archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20080720045346/http://www.orderofmalta.org/missione.asp?idlingua=5 |archive-date=20 July 2008 }}</ref> Though it possesses no territory, the order is considered as a sovereign entity under international law.

The Order traces its institutional continuity with the [[Knights Hospitaller]], a [[order of chivalry|chivalric order]] that was founded about 1099 by the [[Blessed Gerard]] in the [[Kingdom of Jerusalem]].<ref>Sainty, Guy Stair, ed. ''World Orders of Knighthood and Merit'', ''Burke's'', August 2006.</ref> The order is led by an elected [[List of Princes and Grand Masters of the Sovereign Military Order of Malta|prince and grand master]].<ref>{{cite magazine |last1=Keating |first1=Joshua E. |title=Who Are the Knights of Malta — and What Do They Want? |url=https://foreignpolicy.com/2011/01/19/who-are-the-knights-of-malta-and-what-do-they-want/ |date=19 January 2011 |magazine=[[Foreign Policy]] |access-date=29 August 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180830074134/https://foreignpolicy.com/2011/01/19/who-are-the-knights-of-malta-and-what-do-they-want/ |archive-date=30 August 2018 |url-status=live }}</ref> Its [[motto]] is {{Lang|la|Tuitio fidei et obsequium pauperum}} ("Defence of the faith and assistance to the poor").

The government of the Sovereign Order of Malta has a similar structure to national state governments. However, it also includes specific features associated with its nature as a lay religious order, as well as particular terminology evolved from nine centuries of history.

The Order's membership includes about 13,500 Knights, Dames and Chaplains.<ref name="members">Sovereign Military Order of Malta. [https://www.orderofmalta.int/about-the-order-of-malta/knights-of-malta/ "Knights of Malta"].</ref> Thirty-three of these are professed [[Religious (Catholic Church)|religious]] [[Knights of Justice]].<ref name="ariccia">Gran Priorato di Lombardia e Venezia. [https://www.ordinedimaltaitalia.org/sites/malta/malta/files/news/files/Atti%20del%20Capitolo%20Generale%202023.pdf ''Atti approvati dal Capitolo Generale Straordinario, Ariccia, 25–29 gennaio 2023''], 18.</ref> Until the 1990s, the highest classes of membership, including officers, required proof of noble lineage. More recently, a path was created for Knights and Dames of the lowest class (of whom proof of aristocratic lineage is not required) to be specially elevated to the highest class, making them eligible for office in the order.

The Order's modern-day role is largely focused on providing humanitarian assistance and assisting with international humanitarian relations, for which purpose it has had [[List of Permanent Observers of the Sovereign Military Order of Malta to the United Nations|permanent observer status]] at the [[United Nations General Assembly]] since 1994.<ref name="UN_ARES48265">[https://www.un.org/en/ga/search/view_doc.asp?symbol=A/RES/48/265 United Nations General Assembly, Session 48, Resolution 265, ''Observer Status for the Sovereign Military Order of Malta in the General Assembly''] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170226033238/http://www.un.org/en/ga/search/view_doc.asp?symbol=A%2FRES%2F48%2F265 |date=26 February 2017}}. Retrieved 24 February 2017</ref> The Order employs about 52,000 doctors, nurses, auxiliaries and [[paramedic]]s assisted by 100,000 volunteers in more than 120 countries, assisting children, homeless, disabled, elderly, and [[terminal illness|terminally ill]] people, refugees, and [[leprosy|people with leprosy]] around the world without distinction of ethnicity or religion.{{efn|The order's website says "its programmes include medical and social assistance, disaster relief in the case of armed conflicts and natural catastrophes, emergency services and first aid corps, help for the elderly, the handicapped and children in need and the provision of first aid training, and support for refugees and internally displaced persons regardless of race, origin or religion."|name=M13000}} Through its worldwide relief corps, [[Malteser International]], the order aids victims of [[natural disaster]]s, [[Epidemic|epidemics]] and war.<ref>{{Cite web |title=About Malteser International: For a life in health and dignity for all |url=https://www.malteser-international.org/en/about-us/who-we-are.html |access-date=2022-08-20 |website=www.malteser-international.org}}</ref>

The Order maintains diplomatic relations with 114 states,<ref name="Bilateral_relations">{{cite web |url=http://www.orderofmalta.int/diplomatic-activities/bilateral-relations/ |title=Bilateral Relations |author=Sovereign Military Order of Malta |website=Orderofmalta.int |access-date=23 April 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180309214812/https://www.orderofmalta.int/diplomatic-activities/bilateral-relations/ |archive-date=9 March 2018 |url-status=live}}</ref> enters into treaties, and issues [[Sovereign Military Order of Malta passport|its own passports]], coins and postage stamps. Its two headquarters buildings in [[Rome]] enjoy extraterritoriality,<ref>{{Cite web |title=Magistral Palace |url=https://www.orderofmalta.int/government/magistral-palace/ |access-date=2022-08-12 |website=Sovereign Order of Malta |language=en-US}}</ref> and it maintains embassies in other countries. The three principal officers are counted as citizens.<ref name="citizens" /> Although the Order has been a [[United Nations General Assembly observers|United Nations General Assembly observer]] since 1994,<ref name="Bilateral_relations" /><ref>{{cite web |title=Malta Permanent Mission to the United Nations |url=http://www.un.int/orderofmalta|url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160422084757/https://www.un.int/orderofmalta/ |archive-date=22 April 2016 |access-date=12 April 2016 |publisher=United Nations}}</ref> this was granted in view of its "long-standing dedication [...] in providing humanitarian assistance and its special role in international humanitarian relations";<ref name="UN_ARES48265"/> the same category is held by other non-state entities such as the [[International Olympic Committee]] and [[International Committee of the Red Cross]].<ref>{{Cite web |author=United Nations Organization |title=Intergovernmental and Other Organizations |url=http://www.un.org/en/sections/member-states/intergovernmental-and-other-organizations/index.html |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210730094550/https://www.un.org/en/about-us/intergovernmental-and-other-organizations |archive-date=30 Jul 2021 |publisher=United Nations}}</ref>

== Name and insignia ==
{{Main|Flag and coat of arms of the Sovereign Military Order of Malta}}
The Order of Malta comprises a large number of [[Priory|Priories]], Sub-priories, and National Associations around the world, but there also exist various organizations with similar-sounding names that are unrelated to the Order.  These include a number of mimic orders,<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.orderofmalta.int/press-publications/clarification-mimic-orders/ |author=Sovereign Military Order of Malta |website=orderofmalta.int |title=Mimic orders |access-date=28 July 2022}}</ref> such as [[masonic]] and non-Catholic organizations.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.malteserorden.at/smom/pseudoorden.html |title=Pseudo Orden und ihr Auftreten in Österreich 1996–2008 |website=Malteserorden.at |access-date=13 November 2014 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130314000456/http://www.malteserorden.at/smom/pseudoorden.html |archive-date=14 March 2013}}</ref>

The Order has two [[Heraldic flag|flags]]:<ref name="constitution"/>{{rp|Constitution Article 8}} the State Flag is rectangular with a red background upon which there is a white [[Latin cross]].<ref name="flags">{{Cite web |title=Flags & Emblems |url=http://www.orderofmalta.int/government/flags-emblems |author=Sovereign Military Order of Malta |website=orderofmalta.int |access-date=2022-09-10}}</ref> The Flag of the Order's works is rectangular with a red background upon which there is a white eight-pointed [[Maltese cross]].<ref name="flags" />

The Grand Master displays a rectangular flag with a red background upon which there is a white eight-pointed Maltese cross, encircled by the [[Collar of the Order of Saint Michael|Collar of the Order]] and surmounted by a crown.<ref name="flags" />

The coat of arms of the Order, gules a cross argent (a white/silver cross on a red field), is most often depicted on an oval shield surrounded by a rosary, all superimposed on a white eight-pointed [[cross]] over a princely mantle surmounted by a [[crown]].<ref name="constitution" />{{rp|Constitution Article 8 § 2}}

In [[ecclesiastical heraldry]] of the [[Catholic Church]], the Order of Malta is one of only two orders (along with the [[Order of the Holy Sepulchre (Catholic)|Order of the Holy Sepulchre]]) whose [[insignia]] may be displayed in a clerical [[coat of arms]] (laypersons having no such restriction). The shield is surrounded with a silver [[rosary]] for Professed Knights, or for others the ribbon of their rank. Some members may also display the [[Maltese cross]] behind their [[shield]] instead of the [[ribbon]].<ref>{{cite book |last=Noonan, Jr. |first=James-Charles |title=The Church Visible: The Ceremonial Life and Protocol of the Catholic Church |year=1996 |publisher=Viking |isbn=0-670-86745-4 |page=[https://archive.org/details/churchvisiblecer0000noon/page/196 196] |url-access=registration |url=https://archive.org/details/churchvisiblecer0000noon/page/196 }}</ref>

To protect its heritage against fraud, the Order has legally registered sixteen versions of its names and emblems in some one hundred countries.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.orderofmalta.int/history/names-of-the-order/ |author=Sovereign Military Order of Malta |website=orderofmalta.int |title=Names of the Order |access-date=25 July 2022}}</ref>

== History of the Order of Saint John ==
{{Main|Knights Hospitaller}}
{{More citations needed section|date=June 2021}}

=== Founding ===
[[File:Gravure de Fra Gerard fondateur des Hospitaliers de Saint-Jean.jpg|thumb|[[Blessed Gerard]], founder of the Order of Saint John of Jerusalem. Copper engraving by [[Laurent Cars]], about 1725.]]
[[File:Tiziano, cavaliere di malta.jpg|thumb|Portrait of an unknown Knight of Malta, by [[Titian]], c. 1508, [[Uffizi]]]]

The birth of the [[Knights Hospitaller]] dates back to around 1048. Merchants from the ancient [[Duchy of Amalfi|Marine Republic of Amalfi]] obtained from the Caliph of Egypt the authorisation to build a church, convent, and hospital in Jerusalem, to care for pilgrims of any religious faith or race. The Order of St. John of Jerusalem – the monastic community that ran the hospital for the pilgrims in the Holy Land – became independent under the guidance of its founder, the religious brother [[Blessed Gerard|Gerard]].

With the [[Papal bull]] ''[[Pie postulatio voluntatis]]'' dated 15 February 1113, [[Pope Paschal II]] approved the foundation of the Hospital and placed it under the aegis of the Holy See, granting it the right to freely elect its superiors without interference from other secular or religious authorities. By virtue of the Papal Bull, the hospital became an order exempt from the control of the local church. All the Knights were religious, bound by the three monastic vows of [[Evangelical counsels|poverty, chastity and obedience]].

The constitution of the Christian [[Kingdom of Jerusalem]] during the [[Crusades]] obliged the order to take on the military defence of the sick, the pilgrims, and the captured territories. The order thus added the task of defending the faith to that of its hospitaller mission.

As time went on, the order adopted the white, eight-pointed Cross that is still its symbol today. The eight points represent the eight beatitudes that Jesus pronounced in his [[Sermon on the Mount]].

=== Cyprus ===
When the last Christian stronghold in the Holy Land fell after the [[Siege of Acre (1291)|Siege of Acre]] in 1291, the order settled first in [[Cyprus]].

===Rhodes===
{{Main|History of Rhodes under the Order of Saint John}}
In 1310, led by Grand Master Fra' [[Foulques de Villaret]], the knights regrouped on the island of [[Rhodes]]. From there, the defense of the Christian world required the organization of a naval force, so the Order built a powerful fleet and sailed the [[eastern Mediterranean]], fighting battles for the sake of [[Christendom]], including [[Crusades]] in [[Syria]] and [[Egypt]].

In the early 14th century, the institutions of the Order and the [[Knight|knights]] who came to [[Rhodes]] from every corner of [[Europe]] were grouped according to the languages they spoke. The first seven such groups, or [[Langue (Knights Hospitaller)|''Langues'' (Tongues)]] – from [[Provence]], [[Auvergne]], [[France]], [[Italy]], [[Aragon]] ([[Navarre]]), [[England]] (with [[Scotland]] and Ireland), and [[Germany]] –  became eight in 1492, when [[Castile (historical region)|Castile]] and [[Portugal]] were separated from the ''Langue'' of Aragon. Each ''Langue'' included [[Priories]] or Grand Priories, [[Bailiwick]]s, and [[Commandry (feudalism)|Commanderies]].

The Order was governed by its Grand Master, the Prince of Rhodes, and its Council. From its beginning, independence from other nations granted by pontifical charter and the universally recognized right to maintain and deploy armed forces constituted grounds for the international sovereignty of the Order, which minted its own coins and maintained diplomatic relations with other states. The senior positions of the Order were given to representatives of different ''Langues''.

In 1523, after six months of siege and fierce combat against the fleet and army of Sultan [[Suleiman the Magnificent]], the walls collapsed from undermining explosives, and by a negotiated surrender the Knights left Rhodes carrying their arms.

=== Malta ===
{{Main|History of Malta under the Order of Saint John}}

[[File:Battle of Lepanto 1571.jpg|thumb|The [[Battle of Lepanto]] (1571), unknown artist, late 16th century]]

The Order remained without a territory of its own until 1530, when Grand Master Fra' [[Philippe Villiers de L'Isle-Adam|Philippe de Villiers de l'Isle Adam]] took possession of the island of [[Malta]], granted to the order by Emperor [[Charles V, Holy Roman Emperor]] and his mother Queen [[Joanna of Castile]] as monarchs of Sicily, with the approval of [[Pope Clement VII]], for which the order had to honour the conditions of the [[Tribute of the Maltese Falcon]].<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Eiland |first=Murray |date=2013 |title=A Snapshot of Malta |url=https://www.academia.edu/8013398 |journal=The Armiger's News |volume=35 |issue=1 |pages=2–11 |via=academia.edu}}</ref>

In 1565, the Knights, led by Grand Master Fra' [[Jean de Valette]] (after whom the capital of Malta, [[Valletta]], was named), defended the island for more than three months during the [[Great Siege of Malta|Great Siege]] by the [[Ottoman Empire|Ottomans]].

The fleet of the Order contributed to the ultimate destruction of the Ottoman naval power in the [[Battle of Lepanto]] in 1571, led by [[John of Austria]], half brother of King [[Philip II of Spain]].

The [[Protestant Reformation|Reformation]], which split Western Europe into [[Protestant]] and [[Catholic]] states, affected the knights as well. In several countries, including England, Scotland, and Sweden, the order dissolved. In others, including the [[Netherlands]] and Germany, entire bailiwicks or commanderies (administrative divisions of the order) experienced Protestant conversions; these "[[Order of Saint John (Bailiwick of Brandenburg)|Johanniter orders]]" survive in Germany, the Netherlands, and Sweden and many other countries, including the United States and South Africa. It was established that the order should remain neutral in any war between Christian nations.{{citation needed|date=January 2017}}

From 1651 to 1665, the Order [[Hospitaller colonization of the Americas|ruled four islands in the Caribbean]]. On 21 May 1651 it acquired the islands of [[Saint Barthélemy]], [[Saint Kitts|Saint Christopher]], [[Saint Croix, U.S. Virgin Islands|Saint Croix]] and [[Collectivity of Saint Martin|Saint Martin]]. These were purchased from the French [[Compagnie des Îles de l'Amérique]] which had just been dissolved. In 1665, the four islands were sold to the [[French West India Company]].

[[File:Emperor Paul in the Crown of the Grand Master of the Order of Malta.jpeg|thumb|[[Paul I of Russia|Emperor Paul]] of [[Russian Empire|Russia]] wearing the Crown of the Grand Master of the [[Order of Malta]] (1799).]]

In 1798, [[Napoleon]] led the [[French occupation of Malta]]. Napoleon demanded from [[List of Princes and Grand Masters of the Sovereign Military Order of Malta|Grand Master]] [[Ferdinand von Hompesch zu Bolheim]] that his ships be allowed to enter the port and to take on water and supplies. The Grand Master replied that only two foreign ships could be allowed to enter the port at a time. Bonaparte, aware that such a procedure would take a long time and leave his forces vulnerable to British Admiral [[Horatio Nelson, 1st Viscount Nelson|Horatio Nelson]], immediately ordered a cannon fusillade against Malta.<ref>{{cite book |last=Cole |first=Juan |author-link= |date=2007 |title=Napoleon's Egypt: Invading the Middle East |url= |location=New York |publisher=Palgrave Macmillan |pages=8–9 |isbn=978-1403964311}}</ref> The French soldiers disembarked in Malta at seven points on the morning of 11 June and attacked. After several hours of fierce fighting, the Maltese in the west were forced to surrender.<ref>{{cite book |last=Cole |first=Juan |author-link= |date=2007 |title=Napoleon's Egypt: Invading the Middle East |url= |location=New York |publisher=Palgrave Macmillan |page=9 |isbn=978-1403964311}}</ref>

Napoleon opened negotiations with the fortress capital of Valletta. Faced with vastly superior French forces and the loss of western Malta, the Grand Master negotiated a surrender to the invasion.<ref>{{cite book |last=Cole |first=Juan |author-link= |date=2007 |title=Napoleon's Egypt: Invading the Middle East |url= |location=New York |publisher=Palgrave Macmillan |page=10 |isbn=978-1403964311}}</ref> Hompesch left Malta for Trieste on 18 June.<ref>[[Whitworth Porter]], ''A History of the Knights of Malta'' (London: Longman, Brown, Green, 1858). p. 457.</ref> He resigned as Grand Master on 6 July 1799.

The knights were dispersed, though the Order continued to exist in a diminished form and negotiated with European governments for a return to power as part of the agreement between France and Holy Roman Empire during the [[German mediatisation]]. The Russian Emperor, [[Paul I of Russia|Paul I]], gave the largest number of knights shelter in [[Saint Petersburg]], an action that gave rise to the [[Russian tradition of the Knights Hospitaller]] and the Order's recognition among the Russian Imperial Orders.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.focusmm.com/malta/ma_hist3.htm |title=Focus on Malta – History |publisher=Focusmm.com |access-date=12 October 2008 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120304043839/http://www.focusmm.com/malta/ma_hist3.htm |archive-date=4 March 2012 |url-status=live}}</ref> The refugee knights in Saint Petersburg proceeded to elect Tsar Paul as their Grand Master – a rival to Grand Master von Hompesch until the latter's abdication left Paul as the sole Grand Master. Grand Master Paul I created, in addition to the Catholic Grand Priory, a "Russian Grand Priory" of no fewer than 118 Commanderies, dwarfing the rest of the Order and open to all Christians. Paul's election as Grand Master was, however, never ratified under Catholic canon law, and he was the ''de facto'' rather than ''[[de jure]]'' Grand Master of the Order.

By the early 19th century, the Order was severely weakened by the loss of its priories throughout Europe. Only 10% of the order's income came from traditional sources in Europe, with the remaining 90% being generated by the Russian Grand Priory until 1810. This was partly reflected in the government of the Order being under Lieutenants, rather than Grand Masters, in the period 1805 to 1879, when [[Pope Leo XIII]] restored a Grand Master to the order. This signaled the renewal of the Order's fortunes as a humanitarian and religious organization.

On 19 September 1806, the Swedish government offered the sovereignty of the island of [[Gotland]] to the Order. The offer was rejected since it would have meant the Order renouncing their claim to Malta.<ref>{{cite web |last1=Sainty|first1=Guy Stair |title=From the Loss of Malta to the Modern Era |url=http://www.chivalricorders.org/orders/smom/maltmod.htm |website=ChivalricOrders.org |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120306192355/http://www.chivalricorders.org/orders/smom/maltmod.htm |archive-date=6 March 2012 |year=2000}}</ref>

===Exile===
The French forces occupying Malta expelled the [[Knights Hospitaller]] from the country.<ref>{{cite book| url= https://books.google.com/books?id=SghCAAAAcAAJ&pg=PA32 |page=32| title= Pièces diverses relatives aux operations militaires et pol. du gén. Bonaparte |publisher=De l'imprimerie de P. Didot l'aîné| location= Paris| year= 1800 |language=fr |access-date= 2 November 2017 |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20141110054721/http://books.google.com.mt/books?id=SghCAAAAcAAJ&pg=PA32 |archive-date=10 November 2014 |url-status=live }}</ref>

During the seventeen years that separated the seizure of Malta and the General Peace, "the formality of electing a brother Chief to discharge the office of [[Grand Master (Masonic)|Grand Master]], and thus to preserve the vitality of the Sovereign Institute, was duty attended to".<ref>{{cite book |author=Sir Richard Broun, K.T. |author2=Bart, G.C.J.J. |location=london |year=1857 |url=https://archive.org/details/BrownSirRSynopticalSketchOfTheOrderOfKnightsHospitallers1857/page/n27/mode/2up |title=Synoptical Sketch of the Illustrious & Sovereign Order of Knights Hospitallers of St John of Jerusalem and of the Venerable Langue of England | page = 21 | archive-url = https://archive.today/20200911080504/https://archive.org/stream/BrownSirRSynopticalSketchOfTheOrderOfKnightsHospitallers1857/Brown%20Sir%20R%20-%20Synoptical%20Sketch%20of%20the%20Order%20of%20Knights%20Hospitallers%201857_djvu.txt |archive-date = 11 September 2020 | url-status = live}}</ref><ref name="N&Q,4 April 1863" /> The office of Lieutenant of the Magistery and ''ad interim'' of Grand Master was held by the [[Nikolay Saltykov|Grand Baillies Field Marshal Counto Soltikoff]], [[Giovanni Battista Tommasi|Giovanni Tommasi]], [[Innico Maria Guevara-Suardo|De Gaevera]], [[Andrea Di Giovanni y Centellés|Giovanni y Centelles]], [[Carlo Candida|De Candida]] and the [[Filippo di Colloredo-Mels|Count Colloredo]].<ref name="N&Q,4 April 1863" /> Their mandates complexively covered the period until the death of the Emperor Paul in 1801.<ref name="N&Q,4 April 1863">{{cite journal |url=https://academic.oup.com/nq/article-abstract/s3-III/66/270/4472530?redirectedFrom=fulltext | doi = 10.1093/nq/s3-III.66.270d |title=The Order of St. John of Jerusalem |journal=[[Notes and Queries]] |volume=s3-III |issue=66 |date = 4 April 1863 | pages = 270–273 |publisher=Oxford University Press |archive-url=https://archive.today/20200911071714/https://academic.oup.com/nq/article-abstract/s3-III/66/270/4472530?redirectedFrom=fulltext |archive-date=11 September 2020 |url-status = live|url-access=subscription }} The paper cited the ''Synoptical Sketch'' as the best source available for the subject matter. The text was identically repeated in [https://archive.today/20200911080417/https://masonicperiodicals.org/periodicals/mmr/issues/mmr_18041863/page/3/articles/ar00301/ ''The Freemasons' Monthly Magazine''], 18 April 1863, p. 3.</ref>

The [[Treaty of Amiens]] (1802) obliged the [[United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland|United Kingdom]] to evacuate [[Malta]], which was to be restored to a recreated [[Knights Hospitaller|Order of St. John]], whose sovereignty was to be guaranteed by all of the major European powers, to be determined at the final peace. However, this did not happen because of objections to the treaty that quickly grew in the United Kingdom.

[[Napoleon|Bonaparte]]'s rejection of a British offer involving a ten-year lease of Malta prompted the reactivation of the British blockade of the French coast; Britain declared war on France on 18 May.<ref>Pocock, Tom (2005). ''The Terror Before Trafalgar: Nelson, Napoleon, And The Secret War''. Annapolis, MD: Naval Institute Press. {{ISBN|978-1-59114-681-0}}. OCLC 56419314.p. 78</ref>

The 1802 treaty was never implemented. The United Kingdom resumed hostilities citing France's imperialist policies in the [[West Indies]], Italy, and Switzerland.<ref>Illustrated History of Europe: A Unique Guide to Europe's Common Heritage (1992) p. 282</ref>

===Sovereign Military Order of Malta===
[[File:Palazzo di Malta (Roma).jpg|thumb|[[Palazzo Malta]], Rome, Italy]]

The [[Congress of Vienna]] of 1815 confirmed the loss of Malta. After having temporarily resided in Messina, Catania and [[Ferrara]], the seat of the order was moved to Ferrara in 1826 and to Rome in 1834. The [[Palazzo Malta|Magistral Palace]] in Via Condotti 68 and the [[Villa del Priorato di Malta|Magistral Villa]] on the [[Aventine Hill]] enjoy [[extraterritoriality|extraterritorial]] status. The grand priories of Lombardy-Venetia and of Sicily were restored from 1839 to 1841. The office of Grand Master was restored by Pope Leo XIII in 1879, after a vacancy of 75 years, confirming [[Giovanni Battista Ceschi a Santa Croce]] as the first Grand Master of the restored Order of Malta. However, the loss of possession of Malta during this period did not affect the right of active and passive [[legation]] for the Order, which is legally important for the absolute continuity of international status, regardless of the former territorial possession.<ref name="Arocha"/><ref name="b944">{{cite journal | last=Karski | first=Karol | title=The International Legal Status of the Sovereign Military Hospitaller Order of St. John of Jerusalem of Rhodes and of Malta | journal=International Community Law Review | publisher=Brill | volume=14 | issue=1 | year=2012 | issn=1871-9740 | doi=10.1163/187197312x617674 | pages=19–32 | url=https://www.researchgate.net/publication/270721729 | quote=The Order does not exercise territorial sovereignty over any territory, including its headquarters in Rome and Fort San Angelo, leased from Malta. Both are regarded only as exterritorial property.}}</ref>

The original hospitaller mission became the main activity of the order, growing ever stronger during the 20th century, most especially because of the contribution of the activities carried out by the Grand Priories and National Associations in many countries around the world. Large-scale hospitaller and charitable activities were carried out during World Wars I and II under Grand Master Fra' [[Ludovico Chigi Albani della Rovere]] (1931–1951). Under the Grand Masters Fra' [[Angelo de Mojana di Cologna]] (1962–1988) and Fra' [[Andrew Bertie]] (1988–2008), the projects expanded.

In February 2013, the Order celebrated the 900th anniversary of its papal recognition with a general audience with [[Pope Benedict XVI]] and a Mass celebrated by Cardinal [[Tarcisio Bertone]] in [[Saint Peter's Basilica]].<ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-21388516 |title=Knights of Malta Catholic order celebrates 900 years |date=9 February 2013 |work=BBC News|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130209072857/http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-21388516 |archive-date=9 February 2013|url-status=live |access-date=10 February 2013}}</ref>
The order has 95,000 volunteers.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.orderofmalta.int/humanitarian-medical-works/volunteers/ |title=Volunteers |publisher=Order of Malta |access-date=23 January 2025}}</ref>

=== Constitutional reform ===
The Order experienced a leadership crisis beginning in December 2016, when [[Albrecht von Boeselager|Albrecht Freiherr von Boeselager]] protested his removal as Grand Chancellor by Grand Master Fra' [[Matthew Festing]]. Festing had removed Von Boeselager after other aid groups were found to have distributed [[condoms]] as part of a joint charitable project with the order’s Malteser International to help sex slaves in  [[Myanmar]] protect themselves from AIDS.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://apnews.com/general-news-feaacad67f7f42ef871b5acd6848564f|title=Pope probes Order of Malta ouster over old condom scandal|first=Nicole|last=Winfield|date= 22 December 2016|website=The Associated Press|access-date=30 August 2024}}</ref> In January 2017, [[Pope Francis]] ordered von Boeselager reinstated and required Festing's resignation.<ref>{{cite news|work=La Stampa|access-date=26 January 2017|date=26 January 2017|url=http://www.lastampa.it/2017/01/26/vaticaninsider/eng/the-vatican/the-order-of-maltas-crisis-z3YT6XiFgkgdTytPA4StJP/pagina.html|title=The Order of Malta's crisis|first=Andrea|last=Tornielli|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170126170233/http://www.lastampa.it/2017/01/26/vaticaninsider/eng/the-vatican/the-order-of-maltas-crisis-z3YT6XiFgkgdTytPA4StJP/pagina.html|archive-date=26 January 2017|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|access-date=24 January 2017|date=24 January 2017|url=https://www.theguardian.com/world/2017/jan/25/vatican-condom-row-pope-prevails-as-knights-of-malta-chief-resigns|work=The Guardian|title=Vatican condom row: pope prevails as Knights of Malta chief resigns|agency=Reuters in Vatican City|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170125033200/https://www.theguardian.com/world/2017/jan/25/vatican-condom-row-pope-prevails-as-knights-of-malta-chief-resigns|archive-date=25 January 2017|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|work=Reuters|access-date=28 January 2017|date=29 January 2017|url=https://www.reuters.com/article/pope-knights-feud-inisight-idUSKBN15D0X0|title=The Knights of Malta-Vatican feud: a tale of chivalry and sovereignty|first=Philip|last=Pullella|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170129195242/http://www.reuters.com/article/pope-knights-feud-inisight-idUSKBN15D0X0|archive-date=29 January 2017|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|access-date=24 January 2017|url=https://www.reuters.com/article/us-pope-knights-idUSKBN159001|date=24 January 2017|work=Reuters|title=Pope intervenes in Knights of Malta after head resigns under pressure|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170125005224/http://www.reuters.com/article/us-pope-knights-idUSKBN159001|archive-date=25 January 2017|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|work=National Catholic Register|url=http://www.ncregister.com/blog/edward-pentin/pope-francis-declares-all-of-fra-festings-recent-acts-null-and-void|date=26 January 2017|access-date=26 January 2017|title=Pope Francis Declares All of Festing's Recent Acts 'Null and Void'|first=Edward|last=Pentin|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170127015428/http://www.ncregister.com/blog/edward-pentin/pope-francis-declares-all-of-fra-festings-recent-acts-null-and-void|archive-date=27 January 2017|url-status=live}}</ref> Francis also named Archbishop (later Cardinal) [[Giovanni Angelo Becciu|Giovanni Becciu]]<ref>{{cite news|last1=Allen J.|first1=John L.|title=A triptych on Benedict's papacy, and hints of what lies beyond|url=https://www.ncronline.org/blogs/all-things-catholic/triptych-benedicts-papacy-and-hints-what-lies-beyond|access-date=8 February 2017|work=National Catholic Reporter|date=13 May 2011|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170612015635/https://www.ncronline.org/blogs/all-things-catholic/triptych-benedicts-papacy-and-hints-what-lies-beyond|archive-date=12 June 2017|url-status=live}} Becciu was Substitute for General Affairs of the Secretariat of State, a position akin to that of a papal chief of staff.</ref> as his personal representative to the Order – sidelining the Order's Cardinal Patron [[Raymond Leo Burke|Raymond Burke]] – until the election of a new Grand Master.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://press.vatican.va/content/salastampa/it/bollettino/pubblico/2017/02/04/0075/00185.html|access-date=16 May 2018|date=2 February 2017|language=it|title=Lettera Pontificia al Sostituto per gli Affari Generali della Segreteria di Stato per la nomina a Delegato Speciale presso il Sovrano Militare Ordine di Malta|publisher=Holy See Press Office|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180117034703/http://press.vatican.va/content/salastampa/it/bollettino/pubblico/2017/02/04/0075/00185.html|archive-date=17 January 2018|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|last1=Lamb|first1=Christopher|title=Cardinal Burke 'in Office but out of Power' as Job Handed to Papal Delegate|url=http://www.thetablet.co.uk/news/6662/0/cardinal-burke-in-office-but-out-of-power-as-job-handed-to-papal-delegate-|access-date=30 January 2017|work=The Tablet|date=30 January 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170130121151/http://www.thetablet.co.uk/news/6662/0/cardinal-burke-in-office-but-out-of-power-as-job-handed-to-papal-delegate-|archive-date=30 January 2017|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|work=[[America (magazine)|America Magazine]]|url=https://www.americamagazine.org/faith/2017/02/03/dust-order-malta-ends-not-bang-reinstatement|location=New York|date=3 February 2017|access-date=17 April 2017|title=Dust up with Order of Malta ends not with a bang but a reinstatement|first=Gerard|last=O'Connell|quote=[Francis] made clear that the delegate would not have any role in the order's governance, out of respect for the order's sovereignty.|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170418081035/https://www.americamagazine.org/faith/2017/02/03/dust-order-malta-ends-not-bang-reinstatement|archive-date=18 April 2017|url-status=live}}</ref> The pope effectively taking control over the Order was seen by some as a break with tradition and the Order's independence.<ref>{{cite news | url = https://www.economist.com/the-economist-explains/2017/02/07/why-the-pope-has-taken-control-of-the-knights-of-malta | newspaper = The Economist | access-date = 8 May 2020 | date=7 February 2017 | title = Why the pope has taken control of the Knights of Malta }}</ref>

In May 2017, the Order named Mauro Bertero Gutiérrez, a Bolivian member of the Government Council, to lead its constitutional reform process.<ref>{{cite news |last1=Arocho Esteves |first1=Junno |title=Ancient order, modern times: Order of Malta focuses on renewal |url=https://www.ncronline.org/news/vatican/ancient-order-modern-times-order-malta-focuses-renewal |access-date=21 August 2017|work=National Catholic Reporter |agency=Catholic News Service|date=3 August 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170821214454/https://www.ncronline.org/news/vatican/ancient-order-modern-times-order-malta-focuses-renewal |archive-date=21 August 2017 |url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |author=Sovereign Military Order of Malta |title=The Constitutional Reform of the Sovereign Order of Malta |website=orderofmalta.int |url=https://www.orderofmalta.int/2017/06/28/the-constitutional-reform-of-the-sovereign-order-of-malta/ |access-date=21 August 2017 |date=28 June 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170822011944/https://www.orderofmalta.int/2017/06/28/the-constitutional-reform-of-the-sovereign-order-of-malta/|archive-date=22 August 2017 |url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |title=Working to update the Constitution of the Sovereign Order of Malta |url=https://www.orderofmalta.int/2017/11/17/working-to-update-the-constitution-of-the-sovereign-order-of-malta/ |author=Sovereign Military Order of Malta |website=orderofmalta.int |access-date=7 June 2018 |date=17 November 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180612175226/https://www.orderofmalta.int/2017/11/17/working-to-update-the-constitution-of-the-sovereign-order-of-malta/ |archive-date=12 June 2018|url-status=live}}</ref> In June 2017, in a departure from tradition, the leadership of the Order wore a [[suit]] rather than [[full dress uniform]]s to their annual papal audience.<ref>{{cite news |last1=McElwee |first1=Joshua J. |title=New Knights of Malta leader genuflects before Francis in Vatican meeting |url=https://www.ncronline.org/blogs/ncr-today/new-knights-malta-leader-genuflects-francis-vatican-meeting |access-date=21 August 2017 |work=National Catholic Reporter|date=23 June 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170821214159/https://www.ncronline.org/blogs/ncr-today/new-knights-malta-leader-genuflects-francis-vatican-meeting |archive-date=21 August 2017 |url-status=live}}</ref> In May 2018 when a new Grand Master was elected, Francis extended Becciu's mandate indefinitely.<ref>{{cite press release|access-date=4 May 2018 |title=Letter of the Holy Father to the Special Delegate at the Sovereign Military Hospitaller Order of Saint John of Jerusalem, of Rhodes and of Malta (S.M.O.M.), 04.05.2018 |date=4 May 2018 |publisher=Holy See Press Office |url=https://press.vatican.va/content/salastampa/en/bollettino/pubblico/2018/05/04/180504b.html|quote=... up to the conclusion of the reform process and in any case until I consider it useful for the Order itself. |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180505070549/https://press.vatican.va/content/salastampa/en/bollettino/pubblico/2018/05/04/180504b.html |archive-date=5 May 2018|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.catholicnewsagency.com/news/38335/pope-francis-extends-mandate-of-special-delegate-to-knights-of-malta |first=Hannah |last=Brockhaus |title=Pope Francis extends mandate of special delegate to Knights of Malta|access-date=4 May 2018|date=4 May 2018 |agency=Catholic News Agency|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180504225534/https://www.catholicnewsagency.com/news/pope-francis-extends-mandate-of-special-delegate-to-knights-of-malta-24261 |archive-date=4 May 2018 |url-status=live}}</ref> When the Order's [[Chapter General of the Order of Malta|Chapter General]] met in May 2019 three of the 62 participants were women for the first time.<ref>{{cite web |author=Sovereign Military Order of Malta |url=https://www.orderofmalta.int/2019/05/02/chapter-general-sovereign-order-of-malta-has-been-held-rome/ |website=orderofmalta.int |title=The Chapter General of the Sovereign Order of Malta has been held in Rome |date=2 May 2019 |access-date=20 May 2019 |archive-date=4 May 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190504120325/https://www.orderofmalta.int/2019/05/02/chapter-general-sovereign-order-of-malta-has-been-held-rome/ |url-status=dead }}</ref>

On 1 November 2020, Pope Francis named Archbishop (later Cardinal) [[Silvano Tomasi]] to replace Becciu as his Special Delegate to the Order, reiterating the responsibilities of that office as his sole representative.<ref>{{cite press release |publisher=Holy See Press Office |access-date=1 November 2020 | date= 1 November 2020 |language=it |title= Lettera Pontificia al Cardinale eletto Silvano Maria Tomasi per la nomina a Delegato Speciale presso il Sovrano Militare Ordine di Malta, 01.11.2020 |url=http://press.vatican.va/content/salastampa/it/bollettino/pubblico/2020/11/01/0567/01314.html }}</ref>

On 3 September 2022, Pope Francis [[Promulgation (Catholic canon law)|promulgated]] the new constitution of the Order and made provisional appointments to the Sovereign Council; he scheduled a convocation of the Extraordinary General Chapter for 25 January 2023, when regular appointments can be made in place of his provisional ones.<ref>{{Cite web |date=3 September 2022|title=Pope promulgates new Constitution of the Order of Malta |url=https://www.vaticannews.va/en/pope/news/2022-09/pope-promulgates-new-constitution-order-malta.html |access-date=4 September 2022 |website=Vatican News |language=en}}</ref><ref name=decree2022>{{cite web | title = Decree for the Sovereign Military Hospitaller Order of Saint John of Jerusalem, of Rhodes and of Malta (S.M.O.M.), 03.09.2022 | url= https://press.vatican.va/content/salastampa/en/bollettino/pubblico/2022/09/03/decree-for-the-sovereign-military-hospitaller-order-of-saint-joh.html | date = 3 September 2022 | access-date = 31 January 2023 | publisher = Holy See Press Office }}</ref> On 26 January, the General Chapter elected to six-year terms on the Sovereign Council the same four members Francis had appointed the previous September<ref>{{cite news | access-date = 31 January 2023 | language = it | url = https://www.ilmetropolitano.it/2023/01/27/ordine-di-malta-sovrano-consiglio-elette-le-alte-4-cariche/ | newspaper = Il Metropolitano | title = Ordine di Malta. Sovrano Consiglio, elette le alte 4 cariche | date = 27 January 2023 }}</ref> and six of the nine Councillors he had named.<ref>{{cite web | access-date = 31 January 2023 | url = https://www.orderofmalta.int/news/extraordinary-chapter-general-elected-sovereign-council/ | date = 28 January 2023 | title = The Extraordinary Chapter General Elected the Sovereign Council | website = Sovereign Order of Malta}}</ref>

On 19 June 2023, Pope Francis named Cardinal [[Gianfranco Ghirlanda]] to succeed Burke as patron.<ref>{{cite press release | publisher = Holy See Press Office | date = June 19, 2023 | access-date = June 19, 2023 | title =  Rinunce e nomine, 19.06.2023| language = it| url = https://press.vatican.va/content/salastampa/it/bollettino/pubblico/2023/06/19/0453/01013.html }}</ref>

==Organisation==
[[File:Fra John Dunlap in Lourdes 2023.jpg|thumb|upright|Fra' [[John T. Dunlap]], 81st [[List of Grand Masters of the Knights Hospitaller#Sovereign Military Order of Malta|Prince and Grand Master]]]]

===Governance===

The proceedings of the Order are governed by its Constitutional Charter and Code.<ref name="constitution" />

The '''[[List of Princes and Grand Masters of the Sovereign Military Order of Malta|Prince and Grand Master]]''' is the head of the order and governs both as sovereign and as religious superior. He is "entitled to sovereign prerogatives and honors as well as the title of "[[Most Eminent Highness]]".<ref name="constitution" />{{rp|Constitution Article 12}} He is elected to a term of ten years and may be elected to a second term, but may not serve beyond the completion of his 85th year.<ref name="constitution" />{{rp|Constitution Article 13, §2}} The Prince and Grand Master is Fra' [[John T. Dunlap]] who was elected on 3 May 2023.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.orderofmalta.int/news/fra-john-dunlap-81st-grand-master-of-the-order-of-malta/|title=Fra' John Dunlap 81st Grand Master of the Order of Malta|website=Sovereign Order of Malta}}</ref>  "In the event of permanent impediment, resignation or death of the Grand Master, the Order is governed by a Lieutenant ''ad interim'' in the person of the Grand Commander, who can only perform acts of ordinary administration without making any innovations."<ref name="constitution" />{{rp|Constitution Article 18}}  If it is not possible to elect a Grand Master, a Lieutenant of the Grand Master is elected, who has the same powers as the Grand Master with the exception of the prerogatives of honour pertaining to a sovereign. Both the Lieutenant ''ad interim'' and the Lieutenant of the Grand Master are styled ''Eccellenza'' ([[Excellency]]).

The '''[[Sovereign Council of the Order of Malta|Sovereign Council]]''' is the primary governing body of the Order that handles regular business.  The members are the Grand Master (or Lieutenant), the holders of the four High Officers (the Grand Commander,<ref>{{cite web |author=Sovereign Military Order of Malta |url=https://www.orderofmalta.int/government/grand-commander/|title=Grand Commander |website=Orderofmalta.int |access-date=13 November 2017 }}</ref> the Grand Chancellor,<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.orderofmalta.int/government/grand-chancellor/ |author=Sovereign Military Order of Malta |title=Grand Chancellor |website=Orderofmalta.int|access-date=13 November 2017 }}</ref> the Grand Hospitaller<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.orderofmalta.int/government/grand-hospitaller/ |author=Sovereign Military Order of Malta |title=Grand Hospitaller |website=Orderofmalta.int|access-date=13 November 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170623102434/https://www.orderofmalta.int/government/grand-hospitaller/|archive-date=23 June 2017|url-status=live}}</ref> and the Receiver of the Common Treasure),<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.orderofmalta.int/government/receiver-of-the-common-treasure/ |author=Sovereign Military Order of Malta |title=Receiver of the Common Treasure|website=Orderofmalta.int |access-date=13 November 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170623102400/https://www.orderofmalta.int/government/receiver-of-the-common-treasure/|archive-date=23 June 2017|url-status=live}}</ref> the five Councilors of the Council of the Professed Knights, and four Councilors.<ref name="constitution" />{{rp|Constitution Article 25}}

The '''Council of the Professed Knights''' "assists the Grand Master in the spiritual care of the Order and in the governance of the First and Second Class".<ref name="constitution" />{{rp|Constitution Article 26}} It includes the Grand Master (or Lieutenant), the Grand Commander, and five Councilors elected by the Chapter of the Professed.

The '''[[Chapter General of the Order of Malta|Chapter General]]''' is the legislative body of the Order, which meets every six years. It elects the members of the Sovereign Council.

The '''Council Complete of State''' elects the Grand Master or the Lieutenant of the Grand Master.

The '''Board of Auditors''' audits the Order's finances. It includes a President elected among the seven Councillors, all elected by the Chapter General.

The '''Government Council''' is the advisory board to the Sovereign Council in charge of studying political, religious, humanitarian assistance and international issues.

The Order's judicial powers are exercised by a group of Magistral Courts, whose judges are appointed by the Grand Master and the Sovereign Council.

===Regional divisions===

The order is divided regionally into six Grand Priories, six Sub-Priories and 48 associations.<ref name="nationalinst">{{cite web |title=National Institutions |url=https://www.orderofmalta.int/sovereign-order-of-malta/national-institutions/ |website= orderofmalta.int |author=Sovereign Military Order of Malta |access-date=2 September 2016 |archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20160915200616/https://www.orderofmalta.int/sovereign-order-of-malta/national-institutions/ |archive-date=15 September 2016|url-status=live }}</ref>

The six Grand Priories are:
* Grand Priory of Rome (founded 1214; expropriated 1808; restored 1816)<ref name="sire286">{{cite book |last=Sire |first=H.J.A. |title=The Knights of Malta: A Modern Resurrection | location=London |publisher=Third Millennium |year=2016 |page=286}}</ref>
* Grand Priory of Lombardy and Venice (founded as two priories about 1180; expropriated 1796–1806; restored as a single priory 1839)<ref name="sire286" />
* Grand Priory of Naples and Sicily (founded as the Priory of Messina, the Priory of Barletta, and the Priory of Capua in the 12th and 13th centuries; suppressed 1806–1826; restored as a single priory 1839)<ref name="sire286" />
* Grand Priory of Bohemia (founded 1182)<ref name="sire286" />
* Grand Priory of Austria (separated from the Grand Priory of Bohemia 1938)<ref name="sire286" />
* Grand Priory of England (re-established 1993)<ref name="sire286" />

The six Sub-Priories are:
* Sub-Priory of St. Michael (Cologne, Germany)
* Sub-Priory of St. George and St. James (Madrid, Spain)
* Sub-Priory of Our Lady of Philermo (San Francisco, United States)
* Sub-Priory of Our Lady of Lourdes (New York, United States)
* Sub-Priory of The Immaculate Conception (Melbourne, Australia)
* Sub-Priory of St. Oliver Plunkett (Ireland)

=== National Associations of countries not mentioned above ===
Most of the 50 associations are national, but several countries (Brazil, Germany, the United States) have more than one association.

Until the beginning of the nineteenth century the Order was divided regionally into [[Langue (Knights Hospitaller)|Langues]].<ref>https://www.orderofmalta.org/about-the-order-of-malta/national-institutions</ref>
{{columns-list|colwidth=18em|
*Argentina
*Australia
*Belgium
*Bolivia
*Bolivia
*Brazil
*Canada
*Chile
*Colombia
*Costa Rica
*Cuba
*Dominican Republic
*Netherlands
*Ecuador 
*El Salvador
*France
*Guatemala
*Honduras
*Hongkong
*Hungary
*Ireland
*Lebanon
*Malta
*Mexico
*Monaco
*Panama
*Paraguay
*Peru
*Philippines
*Poland
*Portugal
*Puerto Rico
*Romania
*Senegal
*Singapore
*Slovakia
*Slovenia
*Spain
*Switzerland
*Uruguay
*Venezuela
}}

=== Membership ===
[[File:Knight of Malta XXI century.JPG|thumb|upright|A Knight of Grace and Devotion in contemporary church robes]]

Membership in the Order is divided into three classes each of which is subdivided into several categories:<ref>{{cite web |author=Sovereign Military Order of Malta |url=https://www.orderofmalta.int/sovereign-order-of-malta/knights-of-malta/ |title=Knights of Malta |access-date=2 January 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170103053930/https://www.orderofmalta.int/sovereign-order-of-malta/knights-of-malta/ |archive-date=3 January 2017 |url-status=live}}</ref>

* '''First Class''', who make [[religious vows]] of poverty, chastity, and obedience:
** [[Knight of Justice|Knights of Justice]] or Professed Knights
** Professed Conventual Chaplains
: There are currently (2023) 33 Knights of Justice and six Professed Conventual Chaplains.<ref name="ariccia" />{{rp|p. 18}}

* '''Second Class''': [[Knight in Obedience|Knights and Dames in Obedience]] make a Promise of Obedience:
** Knights and Dames of Honour and Devotion in Obedience
** Knights and Dames of Grace and Devotion in Obedience
** Knights and Dames of Magistral Grace in Obedience
: There are currently (2023) 541 Knights in Obedience and 137 Dames in Obedience.<ref name="ariccia" />{{rp|p. 18}}

* '''Third Class''', who make no vows or promises, but live according to the principles of the Church and the Order:
** Knights and Dames of Honour and Devotion
** Conventual Chaplains ad honorem
** Knights and Dames of Grace and Devotion
** Magistral Chaplains
** Knights and Dames of Magistral Grace
** Donats (male and female) of Devotion<ref>{{cite book |last=De Anna |first=Luigi G. |chapter=I Donati nell’organizzazione giovannita e melitense |date=2004 |title=Byzance et ses périphéries (Mondes grec, balkanique et musulman): Hommage à Alain Ducellier |chapter-url=https://books.openedition.org/pumi/26206 |location=Toulouse |publisher=Presses universitaires du Midi |page=407-416 |isbn=9782912025142}}</ref>

: There are currently (2023) 12,395 members of the Third Class.<ref name="ariccia" />{{rp|p. 38}}

Within each class and category of knights there are ranks of Knight, Knight Grand Cross, and Bailiff Knight Grand Cross.

Bishops and priests are generally admitted as chaplains of the Order of Malta. There are some priests who are knights of the order, usually because they were admitted to the order prior to ordination. The priests of the Order of Malta are ranked as Honorary Canons, as in the Order of the Holy Sepulchre; and they are entitled to wear the black mozetta with purple piping and purple fascia.{{Citation needed|date=September 2022}}

Prior to the 1990s, all officers of the order had to be of noble birth (defined differently in different countries), as they were all Knights of Justice or Knights in Obedience. However, Knights of Magistral Grace (i.e. those who do not have proof of noble birth) now may make the Promise of Obedience and, at the discretion of the Grand Master and Sovereign Council, may enter the [[novitiate]] to become professed Knights of Justice.{{Citation needed|date=February 2017}}

===Religious officers===
==== Cardinal Patron ====
<!-- Deleted image removed: [[File:GianfrancoGhirlanda.png|thumb|upright|[[Cardinal (Catholicism)|Cardinal]] [[Gianfranco Ghirlanda|Gianfranco Cardinal Ghirlanda]], Patron of the Sovereign Military Order of Malta 2023-present]] -->

The ''Cardinalis Patronus'' (Cardinal Patron), who is either a [[Cardinal (Catholicism)|cardinal]] when appointed by the pope or soon raised to that rank,<ref>{{cite news |author=Sovereign Military Order of Malta |access-date=6 February 2017 |url=https://www.orderofmalta.int/2010/11/25/order-malta-patron-paolo-sardi-been-created-cardinal/ |title=The Order of Malta's patron Paolo Sardi has been created cardinal |website=orderofmalta.int |date=25 November 2010 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170206022235/https://www.orderofmalta.int/2010/11/25/order-malta-patron-paolo-sardi-been-created-cardinal/ | archive-date=6 February 2017 |url-status=live}}</ref> promotes the spiritual interests of the order and its members, and its relations with the Holy See.<ref name="constitution" />{{rp|Constitution Article 5 § 5}}

* [[Paolo Giobbe]] (8 August 1961&nbsp;– 3 July 1969){{sfn|Lentz III|2015|p=80}}
* [[Giacomo Violardo]] (3 July 1969&nbsp;– 17 March 1978){{sfn|Lentz III|2015|p=198}}
* [[Paul-Pierre Philippe]], O.P. (10 November 1978&nbsp;– 9 April 1984){{sfn|Lentz III|2015|p=143}}
* [[Sebastiano Baggio]] (26 May 1984&nbsp;– 21 March 1993){{sfn|Lentz III|2015|p=17}}
* [[Pio Laghi]] (8 May 1993&nbsp;– 11 January 2009){{sfn|Lentz III|2015|p=102}}
* [[Paolo Sardi]] (6 June 2009&nbsp;– 8 November 2014)<ref>{{cite news |url=https://international.la-croix.com/news/cardinal-paolo-sardi-former-patron-of-order-of-malta-dies-at-84/10530 |title=Cardinal Paolo Sardi, former patron of Order of Malta, dies at 84 |date=15 July 2019 |access-date=15 July 2019 |newspaper=[[La Croix (newspaper)|La Croix]]}}</ref>
* [[Raymond Leo Burke|Raymond Burke]] (8 November 2014–19 June 2023)<ref>{{cite news |last1=Douthat |first1=Ross |title=Cardinal Burke: 'I'm Called the Enemy of the Pope, Which I Am Not' |url=https://www.aei.org/op-eds/cardinal-burke-im-called-the-enemy-of-the-pope-which-i-am-not/ |date=12 November 2019}}</ref>
* [[Gianfranco Ghirlanda]] (19 June 2023–present)<ref>[https://press.vatican.va/content/salastampa/it/bollettino/pubblico/2023/06/19/0453/01013.html Rinunce e nomine, 19.06.2023]</ref>

====Special delegate====
Since 2017, Pope Francis has appointed special delegates to fulfill the role that was previously assigned to the patron.

On 2 February 2017 Pope Francis appointed Archbishop Giovanni Angelo Becciu as his special delegate to the order.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.orderofmalta.int/2017/02/06/pope-francis-appoints-his-special-delegate-to-the-sovereign-order-of-malta/ |author=Sovereign Military Order of Malta |title=Pope Francis appoints his Special Delegate to the Sovereign Order of Malta |website=Orderofmalta.int |date=6 February 2017 |url-status=dead |access-date=29 January 2022 |archive-date=29 January 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220129234323/https://www.orderofmalta.int/2017/02/06/pope-francis-appoints-his-special-delegate-to-the-sovereign-order-of-malta/ }}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=https://press.vatican.va/content/salastampa/it/bollettino/pubblico/2017/02/04/0075/00185.html |title=Lettera Pontificia al Sostituto per gli Affari Generali della Segreteria di Stato per la nomina a Delegato Speciale presso il Sovrano Militare Ordine di Malta |website=vatican.va |date=4 February 2017 }}</ref>

After Becciu resigned from the rights and privileges of a cardinal after being implicated in a financial corruption scandal, in October 2020,<ref name=becciumoney>{{cite news|url=https://www.npr.org/2020/10/14/923306264/you-cannot-serve-both-god-and-money-vatican-s-financial-scandal-takes-new-twist|title='You Cannot Serve Both God And Money': Vatican's Financial Scandal Takes New Twist|first=Sylvia|last=Poggioli|publisher=NPR|date=October 14, 2020|access-date=October 15, 2020}}</ref> Pope Francis appointed Archbishop Silvano Tomasi as his special delegate to the order on 1 November 2020.<ref>{{cite web |author=Sovereign Military Order of Malta |url=https://www.orderofmalta.int/2020/11/01/archbishop-silvano-tomasi-new-special-delegate-sovereign-order-of-malta/ |title=Archbishop Silvano Tomasi is the new Special Delegate to the Sovereign Order of Malta |website=Orderofmalta.int |date=1 November 2020 |url-status=dead |access-date=29 January 2022 |archive-date=29 January 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220129234323/https://www.orderofmalta.int/2020/11/01/archbishop-silvano-tomasi-new-special-delegate-sovereign-order-of-malta/ }}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=https://press.vatican.va/content/salastampa/it/bollettino/pubblico/2020/11/01/0567/01314.html |title=Lettera Pontificia al Cardinale eletto Silvano Maria Tomasi per la nomina a Delegato Speciale presso il Sovrano Militare Ordine di Malta |website=vatican.va |date=1 November 2020 }}</ref>

====Prelate====
The Prelate of the order is responsible for the clergy of the order and assists the Grand Master, the Grand Commander and the Coordinator of the Second Class in the care of the spiritual life and in the religious observance of all members of the order.<ref name="constitution" />{{rp|Constitution Articolo 22}}<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.orderofmalta.int/sovereign-order-of-malta/prelate/ |title=Prelate: Ecclesiastical superior of the Order of Malta clergy |website=Orderofmalta.int |date=6 February 2017 }}</ref> He is appointed by the pope on the advice of the cardinal patron.

On 4 July 2015 Pope Francis named Bishop [[Jean Laffitte]] prelate.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.orderofmalta.int/2015/07/04/pope-francis-nominates-the-new-prelate-of-the-sovereign-order-of-malta/ |author=Sovereign Military Order of Malta |title=Pope Francis nominates the new Prelate of the Sovereign Order of Malta |website=Orderofmalta.int |date=4 July 2015 |url-status=dead |access-date=29 January 2022 |archive-date=25 October 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171025131957/https://www.orderofmalta.int/2015/07/04/pope-francis-nominates-the-new-prelate-of-the-sovereign-order-of-malta/ }}</ref> Laffitte succeeded Archbishop [[Angelo Acerbi]], who had held the office since 2001. Since 21 December 2023 the prelate has been Msgr. Luis Manuel Cuña Ramos, a native of Spain who has spent the most of his life in Rome as a consultant and professor of church history as the Pontifical Urban University and the Pontifical Gregorian University.<ref>{{cite web | website = Knights of Malta | url = https://www.orderofmalta.int/press-releases/pope-francis-has-appointed-msgr-luis-manuel-cuna-ramos-as-the-new-prelate-of-the-order-of-malta/ | access-date = 20 January 2025 | date = 21 December 2023| title = Pope Francis has appointed Msgr. Luis Manuel Cuña Ramos as the new Prelate of the Order of Malta}}</ref>

=== Relationship with other mutually-recognised Orders of Saint John ===
The Sovereign Military Order of Malta has collaborated with other [[Alliance of the Orders of Saint John of Jerusalem#Mutually-recognised Orders of Saint John|mutually-recognized Orders of Saint John]]; for example, the SMOM is a major donor of the [[Saint John Eye Hospital Group|St John Eye Hospital]] in Jerusalem, which is primarily operated by the [[Most Venerable Order of Saint John]].<ref>{{cite web |title=Jerusalem Scene: The Newsletter of St John of Jerusalem Eye Hospital Group – Spring 2017 – Funding Today |url=https://www.stjohneyehospital.org/__media/libraries/jerusalem-scene/JS25-Spring-2017_WEB.pdf |year  = 2017 |publisher=Saint John Eye Hospital Group |access-date=1 September 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180902084134/https://www.stjohneyehospital.org/__media/libraries/jerusalem-scene/JS25-Spring-2017_WEB.pdf |archive-date=2 September 2018 |url-status=live  }}</ref>

==Nuns of the Order==
There are three [[enclosed religious orders|enclosed monasteries]] of nuns of the Order, two in Spain that date from the 11/12th centuries and one in Malta.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.orderofmalta.int/sovereign-order-of-malta/nuns-of-the-order/ |author=Sovereign Military Order of Malta |title=The Nuns of the Order of Malta |access-date=22 November 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170623174202/https://www.orderofmalta.int/sovereign-order-of-malta/nuns-of-the-order/ |archive-date=23 June 2017 |url-status=live}}</ref> The existence of the nuns is not mentioned in the Constitutional Charter or the Code of the Order.

== International status ==
[[File:Diplomatic relations of the Sovereign Military Order of Malta.svg|thumb|500px|Foreign relations with the SMOM:
{{legend|red|Diplomatic relations}}
{{legend|orange|Other official relations}}]]
[[File:San Giovannino dei Cavalieri stemma Cavalieri di Malta.JPG|thumb|Coat of arms of the Knights of Malta from the façade of the church of [[San Giovannino dei Cavalieri]], [[Florence]], Italy]]
{{Anchor|Vehicle registration plate}} [[File:Sovereign Military Order of Malta license plate.jpg|thumb|[[Vehicle registration plate]] of the Order, as seen in Rome, Italy]]
[[File:Turkey.Bodrum082.jpg|thumb|Flags of Knights Hospitaller in [[Bodrum Castle|Saint Peter's Castle]], [[Bodrum]], Turkey.<br />Left to right: {{nowrap|Fabrizio Carretto (1513–1514);<br />Amaury d'Amboise (1503–1512);<br />Pierre d'Aubusson (1476–1503);<br />Jacques de Milly (1454–1461).}}]]
{{Main|Foreign relations of the Sovereign Military Order of Malta}}
{{Further|List of Permanent Observers of the Sovereign Military Order of Malta to the United Nations|List of diplomatic missions of the Sovereign Military Order of Malta}}

The Order "as a subject of international law, exercises sovereign functions with regard to [its] purposes",<ref>Carta Costituzionale e Codice, Articolo 4</ref> namely "promoting the glory of God and the sanctification of its members" and performing works of mercy "towards the sick, the needy, and people without a country without distinction of religion, race, sex, origin and age".<ref>Carta Costituzionale e Codice, Articolo 2</ref>

The Order has formal diplomatic relations with 114 states (including the [[Holy See]]) and has official relations with another five states and [[Sovereign Military Order of Malta–European Union relations|with the European Union]].<ref name="Bilateral_relations" /> The Order maintains [[List of diplomatic missions of Sovereign Military Order of Malta|diplomatic missions]] around the world and many of the states reciprocate by [[List of diplomatic missions to the Sovereign Military Order of Malta|accrediting ambassadors to the Order]] (usually their ambassador to the Holy See). During the reign of Fra' Andrew Bertie as Prince and Grand Master (1988–2008), the number of nations extending diplomatic relations to the Order more than doubled from 49 to 100.<ref>{{cite news |title=Mass commemorates knights leader |work=[[BBC News]] |date = 8 March 2008 |url = http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/7284655.stm?lsm |access-date = 2 May 2009}}</ref>

The Order has [[United Nations General Assembly observers#Other entities|permanent observer status]] at the [[General Assembly of the United Nations]] and some of the [[List of specialized agencies of the United Nations|specialized agencies of the United Nations]].<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.orderofmalta.int/diplomatic-activities/multilateral-relations/ |author=Sovereign Military Order of Malta |title=Multilateral Relations |website=Orderofmalta.int |access-date=21 August 2011 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20111009093650/http://www.orderofmalta.int/diplomatic-relations/755/multilateral-relations/?lang=en |archive-date=9 October 2011 |url-status=live}}</ref> One such example is the [[Central Emergency Response Fund|UN Central Emergency Response Fund]], to which it contributed USD $36,000 from 2006–2022.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Contributions by donor |url=https://cerf.un.org/our-donors/contributions-by-donor |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220823063217/https://cerf.un.org/our-donors/contributions-by-donor |archive-date=2022-08-23 |access-date=2022-08-23 |website=[[Central Emergency Response Fund]]}}</ref> The Order is not classified as a "non-member state" nor as an "[[intergovernmental organization]]", but rather as one of the "other entities having received a standing invitation to participate as observers."<ref>{{Cite web |last=Nations |first=United |title=Intergovernmental and Other Organizations |url=https://www.un.org/en/about-us/intergovernmental-and-other-organizations |access-date=2022-05-14 |website=United Nations |language=en}}</ref>

The Order has relations with the European Union, the [[International Committee of the Red Cross]], and a number of international organizations.  While the [[International Telecommunication Union]] has granted radio identification prefixes to the United Nations and the [[Palestinian Authority]], the Order has never received one. For awards purposes, amateur radio operators consider the Order a separate "entity"—but stations transmitting from there use an unofficial [[callsign]], starting with the prefix "1A".<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.arrl.org/awards/dxcc/list_1a0.html |title = ARRLWeb: DXCC Entities List (Current, 1A0-9Z) |website = Arrl.org |date=6 May 2008 |access-date=17 March 2010 |archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20071011034457/http://www.arrl.org/awards/dxcc/list_1a0.html |archive-date = 11 October 2007}}</ref> The Order has neither sought nor been granted a [[top-level domain]] for the Internet or an [[Country calling code|international dialing code]] for telephone purposes.

The Order's international nature is useful in enabling it to pursue its humanitarian activities without being seen as an operative of any particular nation. Its sovereignty is also expressed in the issuance of [[Sovereign Military Order of Malta passport|passports]], licence plates,<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.targheitaliane.it/smom/smom.html |title=SMOM Plates |publisher=Targheitaliane.it |date=24 August 1994 |access-date=17 March 2010 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110719071417/http://www.targheitaliane.it/smom/smom.html |archive-date=19 July 2011 |url-status=live}}</ref> [[Postage stamps and postal history of the Sovereign Military Order of Malta|stamps]],<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.orderofmalta.int/stamps/?lang=en |title=Sovereign Order of Malta – Official site |publisher=Orderofmalta.int |access-date=17 January 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180223050715/https://www.orderofmalta.int/stamps/?lang=en |archive-date=23 February 2018 |url-status=live}}</ref> and [[Maltese scudo#Coins|coins]].<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.orderofmalta.int/coins/ |title=The Coins of the Sovereign Order of Malta |publisher=Orderofmalta.int |access-date=17 January 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171028145632/https://www.orderofmalta.int/coins/ |archive-date=28 October 2017 |url-status=live}}</ref>

===Scholarly debate===

With its unique history and unusual present circumstances, the exact status of the Order in international law has been the subject of debate. Some scholars have questioned the Order's sovereignty based on the fact that the Order has very limited geographical territories and on account of the Order's relationship with the Holy See. The connection between the Holy See and the Order of Malta was seen as so close as to call into question the actual sovereignty of the order as a separate entity.<ref name="b944"/> This has prompted constitutional changes on the part of the Order, which were implemented in 1997. Since then, the Order has been widely recognized as a sovereign subject of international law in its own right.<ref>"On account of some arguments presented in the 1950s, to the effect that the ties with the Holy See in a constitutional and international law context were so close and frequent that the true sovereignty of the Order could be called in question, constitutional changes were made by the Order. These were established in 1997. While the previous constitution laid down that the Order of Malta was a "legal entity solemnly recognised by the Holy See," this formulation has now been removed from the Order's constitution. The previous constitution prescribed that, after being elected, the head of state of the Order of Malta, that is to say the Grand Master, must be approved by the Pope, the new wording in the constitution only prescribes that after election the Grand Master shall inform the Pope of his election. Changes have been implemented throughout to show that the Order is independent of the Holy See from the constitutional and international law perspective." {{citation |first=Bo J. |last=Theutenberg |url=http://www.theutenberg.se/pdf/the_holy_see_the_order_of_malta_and_international_law.pdf |title=The Holy See, the Order of Malta and International Law |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151121180847/http://www.theutenberg.se/pdf/the_holy_see_the_order_of_malta_and_international_law.pdf |archive-date=21 November 2015 |date=2003 |publisher=Johnny Hagberg and Skara stiftshistoriska sällskap |isbn=91-974235-6-4}}</ref>

Some legal experts claim that the Order's claim to sovereignty cannot be maintained.  Even taking into account the Order's ambassadorial diplomatic status among many nations, some scholars reject the country's sovereign status.<ref>{{Cite web |date=1997-02-07 |title=Point de Presse Declarations du Porte-Parole |url=http://62.160.66.20/BASIS/epic/www/doc/DDW?M=1&K=967999489&W=DATE+%3D+%2707.02.1997%27+AND+TEXTE+PH+IS+%27ordre+de+malte%27+ORDER+BY+DATE/Descend |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20060504065900/http://62.160.66.20/BASIS/epic/www/doc/DDW?M=1&K=967999489&W=DATE+%3D+%2707.02.1997%27+AND+TEXTE+PH+IS+%27ordre+de+malte%27+ORDER+BY+DATE/Descend |archive-date=2006-05-04 |website=[[Ministère des Affaires étrangères]] |language=fr |quote=Pour le droit français, l'Ordre de Malte n'est pas un sujet de droit international. |trans-quote=For French law, the Order of Malta is not a subject of international law.}}</ref> Wilhelm Wengler rejects the notion that recognition of the Order by some states (for example, the Republic of San Marino's 1935 recognition of SMOM as a sovereign state in its own right)<ref>{{cite book|last=Cansacchi|first=Giorgio|title=Il diritto di legazione attivo e passivo dell'Ordine de Malta|date=1940|page=65}}</ref><ref>{{cite journal|last=Astraudo|first=A.|title=Saint-marin et l'Ordre de Malta|date=1935|journal=La Revue Diplomatique|volume=7}}</ref><ref>{{citation |last=Cox |first=Noel S. B. |title=The Continuing Question of Sovereignty and the Sovereign Military Order of Jerusalem, of Rhodes and of Malta |date=June 2008 |ssrn=1140462 |doi=10.2139/ssrn.1140462}}</ref> makes it a subject of international law.<ref>{{cite book |last=Wengler |first=Wilhelm |title=Völkerrecht |location=Berlin |publisher=Springer |year=1964 |edition= }}</ref> Ian Brownlie writes that, "Even in the sphere of recognition and bilateral relations, the legal capacities of institutions like the Sovereign Order of Jerusalem and Malta must be limited simply because they lack the territorial and demographic characteristics of states."<ref>{{cite book |last=Brownlie |first=Ian |title=Principles of Public International Law |location=Oxford |publisher=Oxford University Press |year=2019 |edition=9th }}</ref> Helmut Steinberger states that, "With the historical exception of the Holy See, which maintains diplomatic relations with more than 100 States, in contemporary international law only States as distinguished from international organizations or other subjects of international law are accorded sovereignty."<ref>{{cite book |last=Steinberger |first=Helmut |chapter=Sovereignty |title=Encyclopaedia of Public International Law |location=Amsterdam |publisher=North Holland |year=2000  |pages=IV, 512}}</ref>

Other legal experts argue in favour of the Order's claim to sovereignty. Georg Dahm affirms that the Order is a "subject of international law without territory".<ref>{{cite book |last=Dahm |first=Georg |title=Völkerrecht. |location=Stuttgart |publisher=W. Kohlhammer |year=1958–1961}}</ref> Berthold Waldstein-Wartenberg writes that the sovereignty of the Order and its personality in international law is "generally recognized by international law doctrine".<ref>{{cite book |last=Waldstein-Wartenberg |first=Berthold |title=Rechtsgeschichte des Malteserordens |location=Wien |publisher=Verlag Herold |year=1969 |page=264}}</ref> Gerhard von Glahn affirms that "the Order can be classified as a nonstate subject of international law, although of a somewhat peculiar nature."<ref>{{cite book |last=Von Glahn |first=Gerhard |title=Law Among Nations: An Introduction to Public International Law |publisher=Sweet & Maxwell |year=1992 |edition=6th revised}}</ref> Rebecca Wallace explains that a sovereign entity does not have to be a country, and that the Order is an example of this.<ref>{{cite book |last=Wallace |first=Rebecca |title=International Law: A Student Introduction |publisher=Sweet & Maxwell |year=2005 |edition=5th |isbn=042188410X}}</ref>

===Relations with the Holy See===

On 24 January 1953, the Tribunal of Cardinals appointed by [[Pope Pius XII]] stated that, "The quality of the sovereign Order of the institution is functional, that is, aimed at ensuring the achievement of the purposes of the Order itself and its development in the world." The Tribunal of Cardinals further stated that, "The status of sovereign Order...consists in the enjoyment of certain prerogatives inherent to the Order itself as a Subject of international law. These prerogatives, which are proper to sovereignty{{em dash}}in accordance with the principles of international law{{em dash}}and which, following the example of the Holy See, have also been recognized by some States, do not however constitute in the Order that complex of powers and prerogatives, which it belongs to sovereign bodies in the full sense of the word."<ref name=vatican>{{cite journal| url=https://www.vatican.va/archive/aas/documents/AAS-45-1953-ocr.pdf| journal=Acta Apostolicae Sedis| title=Tribunal e Cardinalizi O Costituto Con Pontificio Chirografo Del 10 Diciembre 1951 (judgment dated 24 January 1953)| volume=XLV| number=15| date=30 November 1953| pages=765–767| language=it| publisher=The Holy See| access-date=13 February 2015| archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150214164058/https://www.vatican.va/archive/aas/documents/AAS-45-1953-ocr.pdf| archive-date=14 February 2015| url-status=live| df=dmy-all}}</ref>

On 24 June 1961, [[Pope John XXIII]] approved the Constitutional Charter of the Order, which stated that "the Order is a legal entity formally approved by the Holy See. It has the quality of a subject of international law" (Article 1) and that "the intimate connection existing between the two qualities of a religious order and a sovereign order do not oppose the autonomy of the order in the exercise of its sovereignty and prerogatives inherent to it as a subject of international law in relation to States." (Article 3)<ref name="Arocha" />

===Relations with Italy===

The Order has signed treaties with Italy dated 20 February 1884, 23 December 1915, 4 January 1938, and 1956.<ref name="sainty">{{cite web |url=http://library.gayhomeland.org/0010/EN/EN_Souvereignity_and_international_Law_G_S_Sainty.htm#BM1 |title=The Order of Malta, Sovereignty, and International Law |last=Sainty |first=Guy Stair |website= |access-date=10 April 2022 }}</ref>

The [[Supreme Court of Cassation (Italy)|Supreme Court of Cassation]] decreed on 6 June 1974 that, "the Sovereign Military Hospitaller Order of Malta constitutes a sovereign international subject, in all terms equal, even if without territory, to a foreign state with which Italy has normal diplomatic relations, so there is no doubt, as already this Supreme Court has warned, that it has the legal treatment of foreign states".<ref>{{cite journal  |url=https://swab.zlibcdn.com/dtoken/d9b09dd57910bda736e1e1045ece596b/23164645.pdf |title=Corte Suprema di Cassazione; Sezioni unite civili; sentenza 6 giugno 1974, n. 1653 |journal=Il Foro Italiano |volume=98 |issue=6 |date=June 1975 |pages=1471/1472–1475/1476 |access-date= 10 April 2022}}</ref>

The two most important properties of the Order in Rome – the Palazzo Malta in Via dei Condotti 68, where the Grand Master resides and Government Bodies meet, and the Villa del Priorato di Malta on the Aventine Hill, which hosts the Grand Priory of Rome – as well as the Embassy of the Order to Holy See and the Embassy of the Order to Italy are all recognised as extraterritorial by Italy.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.maineworldnewsservice.com/caltrap/anessay.htm|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20030702021513/http://www.maineworldnewsservice.com/caltrap/anessay.htm |title=An Essay on the Order of St. John (S.M.O.M.) |author=Paul, Chevalier (pseudonym of a French knight of the SMOM) |access-date=8 October 2012|archive-date=2 July 2003| url-status=dead| quote=Minuscule as it is, the Order does also possess sovereign territory. This consists of the land in Rome on which stands the Grand Magistracy in the Via Condotti and the Villa Malta.}}</ref> As Italy recognizes, in addition to extraterritoriality, the exercise by SMOM of all the prerogatives of sovereignty in its headquarters, Italian sovereignty and SMOM sovereignty uniquely coexist without overlapping.<ref name="Arocha">{{cite web| url= https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B9LDb9lFYjVPUnFkaUVjVVdVUnM/view?usp=sharing| publisher=Analítica.com| location=Caracas, Distrito Capital, Venezuela| access-date=1 October 2012| last=Arocha|first=Magaly | title= La Orden de Malta y su Naturaleza Jurídica (The Order of Malta and Its Legal Nature) | date=May 1999|archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20150801044650/http://analitica.com/opinion/opinion-nacional/la-orden-de-malta-y-su-naturaleza-juridica/|archive-date= 1 August 2015|url-status= live}}</ref>

By a decree of King [[Victor Emmanuel III of Italy]] of 28 November 1929, "The Grand Master of the Sovereign Military Order of Malta enjoys in Italy the honors due to the Cardinals, and takes place after them."  Further, "The representation of the Grand Magistry of the Sovereign Military Order of Malta . . . immediately follows the representations of the Foreign Diplomatic Corps." Finally, the decree affirms that the Bailiffs Knights Grand Cross of Justice in Italy shall be styled "Excellency" ({{langx|it|Eccellenza}}).<ref>{{cite news |last=Vittorio Emanuele III |date=2 December 1929 |title=Norme relative al trattamento del Sovrano Militare Ordine di Malta nell'ordine delle precedenze a Corte e nelle pubbliche funzioni. |url=https://www.gazzettaufficiale.it/eli/gu/1929/12/02/280/sg/pdf |work=Gazzetta Ufficiale del Regno d'Italia |pages=5393–5394 |access-date=10 April 2022}}</ref>

The Order is one of the largest landowners in Italy; its properties are exempted from certain Italian fiscal jurisdiction.<ref name="sainty" />

Diplomatic vehicles of the Order in Italy receive diplomatic license plates with the code "XA". Other vehicles of the Order receive Italian license plates with the prefix SMOM.

=== Relations with the Republic of Malta ===
[[File:St-Angelo-Malta.jpg|thumb|Flags of Malta and the SMOM on [[Fort St. Angelo]]]]

Two bilateral treaties have been concluded between the Order and the [[Republic of Malta]]. The first treaty, dated 21 June 1991, is now no longer in force.<ref name="autogenerated2">{{cite web|url=http://www.mfa.gov.mt/TreatyDetails.aspx?id%3D1469 |title= Agreement between the Republic of Malta and the Sovereign Military Order of St. John of Jerusalem of Rhodes and of Malta for the Restoration and Utilisation of Parts of Fort St. Angelo |access-date=13 November 2014 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141119024945/http://www.mfa.gov.mt/TreatyDetails.aspx?id=1469 |archive-date=19 November 2014 }}</ref> The second treaty was signed on 5 December 1998 and ratified on 1 November 2001.<ref name="autogenerated3">{{cite web|url=http://www.mfa.gov.mt/TreatyDetails.aspx?id%3D464 |title= Agreement between the Government of Malta and the Government of the Sovereign Hospitalier Order of Saint John of Jerusalem, of Rhodes and of Malta for the restoration and utilisation of parts of Fort St. Angelo |access-date=13 November 2014 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141119024832/http://www.mfa.gov.mt/TreatyDetails.aspx?id=464 |archive-date=19 November 2014 }}</ref>

This agreement grants the Order the use with limited extraterritoriality of the upper portion of [[Fort St. Angelo]] in the city of [[Birgu]]. Its stated purpose is "to give the Order the opportunity to be better enabled to carry out its humanitarian activities as Knights Hospitallers from Saint Angelo, as well as to better define the legal status of Saint Angelo subject to the sovereignty of Malta over it".<ref>Agreement between the Government of Malta and the Government of the Sovereign Military Hospitaller Order of St John of Jerusalem, of Rhodes and of Malta (signed 5 December 1998), Article 3(4)–(5), Article 3(2)–(3), Article 7(4)</ref>

The agreement has a duration of 99 years, but the document allows the Government of Malta to terminate it at any time after 50 years.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.orderofmalta.int/2001/03/13/after-two-centuries-the-order-of-malta-flag-flies-over-fort-st-angelo-beside-the-maltese-flag/ |author=Sovereign Military Order of Malta |title=After Two Centuries, the Order of Malta Flag Flies over Fort St. Angelo beside the Maltese Flag |website=orderofmalta.int |access-date=13 November 2014 |date=13 March 2001 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160916163852/https://www.orderofmalta.int/2001/03/13/after-two-centuries-the-order-of-malta-flag-flies-over-fort-st-angelo-beside-the-maltese-flag/ |archive-date=16 September 2016 |url-status=live}}</ref> Under the terms of the agreement, the flag of Malta is to be flown together with the flag of the Order in a prominent position over Fort St. Angelo. No asylum may be granted by the Order and generally the Maltese courts have full jurisdiction and Maltese law shall apply. The second bilateral treaty mentions a number of immunities and privileges, none of which appeared in the earlier treaty.<ref name="autogenerated2"/><ref name="autogenerated3"/>

===Currency and postage stamps===
{{see also|Postage stamps and postal history of the Sovereign Military Order of Malta}}

The Order's coins are appreciated more as collector's items than for use as currency.

Some 58 countries recognize the Order's postage stamps for [[franking]] purposes, including several such as Canada and [[Mongolia]] that lack full diplomatic relations with the Order.<ref name="stamps">{{cite web |url=https://www.orderofmalta.int/associate-countries/ |title=Associate Countries |access-date=22 January 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180222225731/https://www.orderofmalta.int/associate-countries/ |archive-date=22 February 2018 |url-status=live}}</ref> In 2005, [[Poste italiane]], the Italian postal service, agreed with the Order to deliver internationally most classes of mail other than registered, insured, and special-delivery mail. The Order began issuing [[euro]]-denominated postage stamps in 2005, although the [[Maltese scudo|scudo]] remains the official currency of the Order.

==Military Corps==
[[File:Cross Hospitalier.svg|thumb|100px|left|[[Logotype]] of the [[Military Corps of the Sovereign Military Hospitaller Order of Saint John of Jerusalem of Rhodes and of Malta|Military Corps of the Sovereign Military Order of Malta]]]]
[[File:2june 2007 489.jpg|thumb|Military Corps of the Sovereign Military Order of Malta, ACISMOM, in parade during [[Festa della Repubblica]] in Rome (2007)]]

The Order states that it was the hospitaller role that enabled the Order to survive the end of the crusading era; nonetheless, it retains its military title and traditions.

On 26 March 1876, the Association of the Italian Knights of the Sovereign Military Order of Malta ({{lang|it|Associazione dei cavalieri italiani del sovrano militare ordine di Malta}}, ACISMOM) reformed the Order's military to a modern military unit of the era. This unit provided medical support to the Italian Army and on 9 April 1909 the military corps officially became a special auxiliary volunteer corps of the Italian Army under the name {{lang|it|Corpo Militare dell'Esercito dell'ACISMOM}} (Army Military Corps of the ACISMOM), wearing Italian uniforms.<ref name="autogenerated1">{{cite web |url= http://www.orderofmalta.org.uk/del_Borgo.pdf|title= Address to British Association SMOM by Fausto Solaro del Borgo, President of the Italian Association London, 17 November |first= Fausto|last= Solaro del Borgo |date= 17 November 2007 |publisher= Sovereign Military Order of Malta |archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20080627091939/http://www.orderofmalta.org.uk/del_Borgo.pdf |archive-date=27 June 2008 |url-status= dead|access-date= 10 February 2013}}</ref> Since then the Military Corps have operated with the Italian Army both in wartime and peacetime in medical or paramedical military functions, and in ceremonial functions for the Order, such as standing guard around the coffins of high officers of the Order before and during funeral rites.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.orderofmalta.int/wp-content/themes/order_of_malta/image_zoom.php?id=40667&foto=0&lang=en&titolo=|title=This photograph shows four members of the Corps standing guard at the coffin of a deceased Grand Master of the Order|website=Orderofmalta.int|access-date=12 April 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181106195447/https://www.orderofmalta.int/wp-content/themes/order_of_malta/image_zoom.php?id=40667&foto=0&lang=en&titolo=|archive-date=6 November 2018|url-status=live}}</ref>

{{quote|text=I believe that it is a unique case in the world that a unit of the army of one country is supervised by a body of another sovereign country. Just think that whenever our staff (medical officers mainly) is engaged in a military mission abroad, there is the flag of the Order flying below the Italian flag.|source=Fausto Solaro del Borgo, President of the Italian Association of the Sovereign Military Order of Malta, stated in a speech given in London in November 2007.<ref name="autogenerated1" />|title=}}

===Air force===
[[File:Roundel of SMOM.svg|thumb|100px|left|[[Roundel]] of the air force of the Sovereign Military Order of Malta]]
[[File:Vigna di Valle 20110812 — Savoia-Marchetti S.M.82 vista dall'alto.jpg|thumb|SMOM [[Savoia-Marchetti SM.82]] at the [[Italian Air Force Museum]]]]
In 1947, after the post-World War II peace treaty forbade Italy to own or operate bomber aircraft and only operate a limited number of transport aircraft, the Italian Air Force opted to transfer some of its [[Savoia-Marchetti SM.82]] aircraft to the Sovereign Military Order of Malta, pending the definition of their exact status (the SM.82 were properly long range transport aircraft that could be adapted for bombing missions). These aircraft were operated by Italian Air Force personnel temporarily flying for the Order, carried the Order's roundels on the fuselage and Italian ones on the wings, and were used mainly for standard Italian Air Force training and transport missions but also for some humanitarian tasks proper of the Order of Malta (like the transport of sick pilgrims to the Lourdes sanctuary). In the early 1950s, when the strictures of the peace treaty had been much relaxed by the Allied authorities, the aircraft returned under full control of the Italian Air Force. One of the aircraft transferred to the Order of Malta, still with the Order's fuselage roundels, is preserved in the [[Italian Air Force Museum]].<ref>''Military Aircraft Insignia of the World'' by John Cochrane and Stuart Elliott, published 1998 by Airlife Publishing Limited of Shrewsbury, England (illustrated). {{ISBN|1-85310-873-1}}</ref>

===Logistics===
The Military Corps has become known in mainland Europe for its operation of [[hospital train]]s,<ref>{{Cite web|title=Hospital train|url=http://www.orderofmalta.int/wp-content/themes/order_of_malta/gallery_zoom.php?id=35087&foto=0&lang=en|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120324183934/http://www.orderofmalta.int/wp-content/themes/order_of_malta/gallery_zoom.php?id=35087&foto=0&lang=en|archive-date=24 March 2012|access-date=24 May 2020}}</ref> a service carried out intensively during both World Wars. The Military Corps still operates a modern 28-car hospital train with 192 hospital beds, serviced by a medical staff of 38 medics and paramedics provided by the Order and a technical staff provided by the Italian Army's [[Ferrovieri Engineer Regiment]].<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.orderofmalta.int/press-articles/27314/treno-ospedale-attrezzato-per-lemergenza/?lang=en|title=Treno Ospedale Attrezzato Per L'Emergenza|author=Ordine di Malta|website=Orderofmalta.int|access-date=13 November 2014|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120506234943/http://www.orderofmalta.int/press-articles/27314/treno-ospedale-attrezzato-per-lemergenza/?lang=en|archive-date=6 May 2012}}</ref>

== Current activity ==
The Sovereign Military Order of Malta has major cooperation with [[Alliance of the Orders of Saint John of Jerusalem]].<ref>{{Cite web |last= |first= |last2= |last3= |first3= |last4= |first4= |title=Worldwide Priories and Affiliated Organizations |url=https://www.saintjohn.org/about-us/st-john-worldwide |access-date=2024-11-20 |website=St John Priory in the USA}}</ref> They monitor breaches having set up a ''Unrecognised Orders Monitoring Group''.
In Germany, in daughter societies of both organisations there was alleged, that there was not much concern about racism by staff in the early 2020s.<ref>{{Cite news |last1=Fromm |first1=Anne |last2=Erb |first2=Sebastian |date=2022-10-22 |title=Rechte Retter und die Folgen: Und dann ein Hitlerbärtchen |url=https://taz.de/Rechte-Retter-und-die-Folgen/!5887459/ |access-date=2024-11-20 |work=Die Tageszeitung: taz |language=de |issn=0931-9085}}</ref>
''Malteser Auslandsdienst'' (''Malteser Foreign Service'') is an organisation from Germany active in several European countries as well as South Africa, Chile and Russia.
<ref>{{Cite web |title=Malteser Auslandsdienst – Ehrenamtlich im Ausland helfen |url=https://www.malteser.de/auslandsdienst.html |access-date=2024-11-20 |website=www.malteser.de |language=de}}</ref> [[Malteser International|Malteser Aid Service]] was founded by the order and the German Caritas Association in Germany in 1953.
<ref>{{Cite web |title=Über uns |url=https://www.malteser.de/ueber-uns.html |access-date=2024-11-20 |website=www.malteser.de}}</ref> [[Malteser International]] has more than 140 projects in 35 countries in Africa, Asia and the Americas.<ref>https://www.orderofmalta.int/de/humanitaere-medizinische-hilfe/malteser-international/</ref> Malteser International is a division of Malteser Hilfsdienst e.V. and based in Cologne, Germany. 
<ref>{{Cite web |title=Structure {{!}} Malteser International |url=https://www.malteser-international.org/en/about-us/who-we-are/structure.html |access-date=2024-11-20 |website=www.malteser-international.org}}</ref> Malteser International Americas is based in New York, USA.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Structure {{!}} Malteser International |url=https://www.malteser-international.org/en/about-us/who-we-are/structure.html |access-date=2024-11-20 |website=www.malteser-international.org}}</ref>
It provides emergency aid.<ref>https://www.orderofmalta.int/de/humanitaere-medizinische-hilfe/malteser-international/</ref> It is active in Venezuela, Colombia, Haiti, but also Ukraine, Iraq, Lebanon, Syria, Kenya, South Sudan, the Democratic Republic of Congo and Myanmar, inter alia. 
<ref>https://www.orderofmalta.int/de/humanitaere-medizinische-hilfe/malteser-international/</ref>
In 2023, more than half its income was from the Government of Germany.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Finance {{!}} Malteser International |url=https://www.malteser-international.org/en/about-us/how-we-work/finance.html |access-date=2024-11-20 |website=www.malteser-international.org}}</ref> The current membership of Malteser International consists of 27 National Associations and Priories of the Order of Malta.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Structure {{!}} Malteser International |url=https://www.malteser-international.org/en/about-us/who-we-are/structure.html |access-date=2024-11-20 |website=www.malteser-international.org}}</ref> 
Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry (South Sudan), 
Ministry of Animal Resources and Fisheries, (South Sudan), 
Ministry of Education and Instruction, (South Sudan), 
Ministry of Health (Nigeria), 
Ministry of Health (Uganda), 
Ministry of Water Resources and Irrigation (South Sudan) and 
Ministry of Women Affairs (Nigeria) are among the partners of Malteser International.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Partners & Donors {{!}} Malteser International |url=https://www.malteser-international.org/en/about-us/how-we-work/donors.html |access-date=2024-11-20 |website=www.malteser-international.org}}</ref>
The German Federal Foreign Office has started a campaign on forgotten crises, with other organisation including [[Save the Children]], [[CARE]] and [[SOS Children's Villages]].<ref>{{Cite web |title=Forgotten crises {{!}} Malteser International |url=https://www.malteser-international.org/en/current-issues/humanitarian-crises/forgotten-crises.html |access-date=2024-11-20 |website=www.malteser-international.org}}</ref>
In 1961, the [[Order of Saint John]] played a major role in Britain and the Commonwealth.<ref>https://international-review.icrc.org/sites/default/files/S0035336100123834a.pdf</ref>

== Orders, decorations, and medals ==
{{Main|Orders, decorations, and medals of the Sovereign Military Order of Malta}}

* [[Order pro Merito Melitensi]]

== See also ==
* [[Knights Hospitaller]]
* [[List of Knights Hospitaller sites]]
* [[Order of Malta Ambulance Corps]] (Ireland)
* [[Sovereign State of the Bektashi Order]]

== Notes ==
{{notelist}}

== References ==
{{reflist}}

===Bibliography===
* {{cite book |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=ongwCgAAQBAJ |title=Popes and Cardinals of the 20th Century: A Biographical Dictionary |first=Harris M. |last=Lentz III |location=Jefferson, NC |publisher=[[McFarland Publishing]] |date=2015 |isbn=9781476621555}}

== Further reading ==
* {{cite book |last=Burlamacchi |first=Maurizio |date=2013 |title=Nobility, Honour and Glory: A Brief Military History of the Order of Malta |publisher = Olschki |isbn=978-88-222-6247-9 }}
* {{cite book |last=Carr| first=John C. |date=2016 |title=The Knights Hospitaller |publisher = Pen & Sword Books |isbn=978-1-473858-88-6}}
* {{cite book |last=Cohen |first=R. |title=Knights of Malta, 1523–1798 |url=https://archive.org/details/knightsmalta00cohegoog/page/n2/mode/2up |access-date=10 April 2022 |date=1920 |location=London |publisher=Society for Promoting Christian Knowledge}}
* [[Henry Sire|Colonna, Marcantonio]], ''The Dictator Pope: The Inside Story of the Francis Papacy'', Washington DC, Regnery Publishing, 2017–2018.
* {{cite book |last=Güttner-Sporzyński |first=Darius von |title=Evolution and Adaptation: The Order of Saint John in War and Peace |orig-year=2013 |url=https://www.researchgate.net/publication/265378324 |access-date=9 September 2014 |date=15 January 2013 |publisher=Ordines Militares. Colloquia Torunensia Historica }}
* {{cite book |last=Nicholson |first=Helen |title=The Knights Hospitaller |date=2013 |publisher=The Boydell Press |isbn=085115 8455}}
* {{cite book |last=Porter |first=Whitworth |title=A History of the Knights of Malta (reprint of original edition 1883)|date=2013 |publisher=Cambridge University Press |isbn=9781108066228}}
* {{cite book |last=Santolaria de Puey y Cruells |first=José-Apeles |editor=Escuela Diplomática Española |title=Relaciones jurídicas internacionales de la Soberana Orden de San Juan de Malta |year=1997 |url=https://docs.google.com/open?id=0B3R26J604FxmMWYzZDc5ZTctMzhiMS00NGZmLThlZjgtNmI5YTJiNzdkMTQy |publisher=[[Google Docs]]}}
* {{cite book |last=Sire |first=H.J.A. |date=1994 |title=The Knights of Malta |url=https://archive.org/details/SireHJATheKnightsOfMalta_201706/mode/2up |location=New Haven, CT |publisher=Yale University Press |isbn= 0300055021}}
* {{cite book |last=Sire |first=H.J.A. |date=2016 |title=The Knights of Malta: A Modern Resurrection |location=Bevin Way, London |publisher=Third Millennium |isbn=9781908990679}}
* List of Italian knights of the Order of Malta from 1136 to 1713: ''[https://archive.org/stream/elencodeicavali00bonagoog#page/n8/mode/1up Elenco dei cavaleri del S.M.Ordine di San Giovanni di Gerusalemme]'' by Francesco Bonazzi (Napoli: Libreria Detken & Rocholl, 1897)
* List of Italian knights of the Order of Malta from 1714 to 1907: ''[https://archive.org/stream/elencodeicavali01bonagoog#page/n5/mode/1up Elenco dei cavaleri del S.M.Ordine di San Giovanni di Gerusalemme]'' by Francesco Bonazzi (Napoli: Libreria Detken & Rocholl, 1907)
* List of members of the Order of Malta 1880: ''[[iarchive:ruologeneraledel00knig/page/n7/mode/2up|Ruolo generale del sov. mil. ordine di S. Giovanni de Gerulasemme ovvero di Malta]]'' (Roma: Tipografia Poliglotta della S. Congregazione di Propaganda Fide, 1880)
* {{Cite web |last=Gagliarducci |first=Andrea |date=6 September 2022 |title=How did Pope Francis change the Order of Malta? |url=https://www.catholicnewsagency.com/news/252211/how-did-pope-francis-change-the-order-of-malta |access-date=2022-09-07 |website=Catholic News Agency |language=en}}

== External links ==
{{Sister project links|d=Q190353|commons=category:Sovereign Military Order of Malta|mw=no|species=no|voy=no|wikt=no|q=no|n=no|s=Catholic_Encyclopedia_(1913)/Hospitallers_of_St._John_of_Jerusalem|v=no|b=no}}
* {{official}} {{in lang|en|fr|de|it|es}}
* [https://www.orderofmalta.int/wp-content/uploads/2022/09/Sovrano-Ordine-di-Malta-Carta-Costituzionale-e-Codice-2022.pdf Constitution of the Sovereign Military Order of Malta (in Italian)]
* [http://www.smomun.org/ Permanent Observer Mission of the Order of Malta to the United Nations, IAEA and CTBTO in Vienna]
* [https://unmissionny.orderofmalta.int/ Permanent Observer Mission of the Order of Malta to the United Nations in New York]
* [https://postemagistrali.orderofmalta.int/ The Order of Malta Magistral Post]
* [https://www.ramblinrandy.com/europe/the-sovereign-military-order-of-malta-the-other-matla/ The Sovereign Military Order of Malta – The OTHER Malta!  A visit to the Order's leased property on the Island of Malta]

{{SMOM territory|state=expanded}}
{{Council of Europe}}
{{Orders, decorations, and medals of the Sovereign Military Order of Malta}}
{{Papal Orders of Knighthood}}
{{Crusader States}}
{{Authority control}}
{{Portalbar|Catholicism|Malta|Christianity}}

[[Category:Sovereign Military Order of Malta| ]]
[[Category:Catholic orders of chivalry]]
[[Category:Military orders (monastic society)|Malta, Sovereign Military Order of]]
[[Category:Orders following the Rule of Saint Benedict]]
[[Category:Orders of chivalry under protection of the Holy See]]
[[Category:Orders of chivalry in Europe]]
[[Category:Orders of chivalry awarded to heads of state, consorts and sovereign family members]]
[[Category:Organisations based in Rome]]
[[Category:Religious organisations based in Italy]]
[[Category:Former governments in exile|Malta, Sovereign Military Order of]]
[[Category:Overseas empires|Malta, Sovereign Military Order of]]
[[Category:Catholic religious orders established in the 11th century]]
[[Category:11th-century establishments in the Kingdom of Jerusalem]]
[[Category:1099 establishments in Asia]]
[[Category:United Nations General Assembly observers|Malta, Sovereign Military Order of]]
[[Category:Knights of Malta]]
[[Category:Religion and politics]]
[[Category:States and territories established in 1099]]