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Sovereign Military Order of Malta
Sovereign Military Hospitaller Order of Saint John of Jerusalem, of Rhodes and of Malta | |
|---|---|
| Motto: Tuitio fidei et obsequium pauperum (Latin) "Defence of the faith and assistance to the poor" | |
| Anthem: Ave Crux Alba (Latin) Hail, thou White Cross | |
| Capital | Rome (Palazzo Malta 41°54′19″N 12°28′50″E / 41.90528°N 12.48056°E and Villa del Priorato di Malta 41°53′01″N 12°28′39″E / 41.88361°N 12.47750°E) |
| Official languages | Italian[1]: Constitution Article 7 |
| Religion | Catholicism |
| Government | |
| John T. Dunlap | |
| Emmanuel Rousseau | |
| Riccardo Paternò di Montecupo | |
| Alessandro de Franciscis | |
| Fabrizio Colonna | |
| Sovereign subject of international law | |
• Establishment of the Knights Hospitaller | c. 1099 |
| 1113 | |
• Cyprus | 1291–1310 |
• Rhodes | 1310–1523 |
• Malta | 1530–1798 |
• Division | 1805–1812 |
| 1834–present | |
| Area | |
• Total | 0 km2 (0 sq mi) |
| Population | |
• Estimate | 13,191 members (2023)[2]: p. 38 39 vowed members (33 knights; 6 chaplains)[2]: p. 18 3 citizens[3] |
| Currency | Maltese scudo |
Website www | |
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The Sovereign Military Order of Malta (SMOM), officially the Sovereign Military Hospitaller Order of Saint John of Jerusalem, of Rhodes and of Malta,[a] and commonly known as the Order of Malta or the Knights of Malta, is a Catholic lay religious order, traditionally of a military, chivalric, and noble nature.[4] Though it possesses no territory, the order is often considered a sovereign entity under international law.
The order claims continuity with the Knights Hospitaller, a chivalric order that was founded about 1099 by the Blessed Gerard in the Kingdom of Jerusalem.[5] The order is led by an elected prince and grand master.[6] Its motto is Tuitio fidei et obsequium pauperum ("Defence of the faith and assistance to the poor").
The Order's membership includes about 13,500 Knights, Dames and Chaplains.[7] Thirty-three of these are professed religious Knights of Justice.[2] 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 permanent observer status at the United Nations General Assembly since 1994.[8] The Order employs about 52,000 doctors, nurses, auxiliaries and paramedics assisted by 95,000 volunteers in more than 120 countries, assisting children, homeless, disabled, elderly, and terminally ill people, refugees, and lepers around the world without distinction of ethnicity or religion.[b] Through its worldwide relief corps, Malteser International, the order aids victims of natural disasters, epidemics and war.[9]
The Order maintains diplomatic relations with 113 states,[10] enters into treaties, and issues its own passports, coins and postage stamps. Its two headquarters buildings in Rome enjoy extraterritoriality,[11] and it maintains embassies in other countries. The three principal officers are counted as citizens.[3] Although the Order has been a United Nations General Assembly observer since 1994,[10][12] this was granted in view of its "long-standing dedication [...] in providing humanitarian assistance and its special role in international humanitarian relations";[8] the same category is held by other non-state entities such as the International Olympic Committee and International Committee of the Red Cross.[13]
- ^ Carta Costituzionale e Codice (PDF). Rome: Sovereign Military Order of Malta. 3 September 2022. Retrieved 3 September 2022. Also available in English as Constitutional Charter.
- ^ a b c Gran Priorato di Lombardia e Venezia. Atti approvati dal Capitolo Generale Straordinario, Ariccia, 25-29 gennaio 2023, 18.
- ^ a b Sack, John (1959). Report from Practically Nowhere. Harper. p. 140.
as part of the bargain only three men – the grand master, the lieutenant grand master, and the chancellor – could be citizens there. The other S.M.O.M.ians were to be citizens of the country they lived in."
- ^ Sovereign Military Order of Malta. "Mission". Orderofmalta.int. Archived from the original on 20 July 2008. Retrieved 12 April 2016.
- ^ Sainty, Guy Stair, ed. World Orders of Knighthood and Merit, Burke's, August 2006.
- ^ Keating, Joshua E. (19 January 2011). "Who Are the Knights of Malta — and What Do They Want?". Foreign Policy. Archived from the original on 30 August 2018. Retrieved 29 August 2018.
- ^ Sovereign Military Order of Malta. "Knights of Malta".
- ^ a b United Nations General Assembly, Session 48, Resolution 265, Observer Status for the Sovereign Military Order of Malta in the General Assembly Archived 26 February 2017 at the Wayback Machine. Retrieved 24 February 2017
- ^ "About Malteser International: For a life in health and dignity for all". www.malteser-international.org. Retrieved 20 August 2022.
- ^ a b Sovereign Military Order of Malta. "Bilateral Relations". Orderofmalta.int. Archived from the original on 9 March 2018. Retrieved 23 April 2018.
- ^ "Magistral Palace". Sovereign Order of Malta. Retrieved 12 August 2022.
- ^ "Malta Permanent Mission to the United Nations". United Nations. Archived from the original on 22 April 2016. Retrieved 12 April 2016.
- ^ United Nations Organization. "Intergovernmental and Other Organizations". United Nations. Archived from the original on 30 July 2021.
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