REPUBLIQUE DU CAMEROUN Paix - Travail - Patrie PRESIDENCE DE LA REPUBLIQUE CABINET CIVIL CELLULE DE COMMUNICATION REPUBLIC OF CAMEROON Peace - Work - Fatherland PRESIDENCY OF THE REPUBLIC CIVIL CABINET COMMUNICATION UNIT
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# Official visit of His Most Eminent Highness the Prince and Grand Master, Fra' Giacomo Dalla Torre del Tempio di Sanguinetto, of the Sovereign Military Order of Malta
16-19 July 2018
PRESS KIT
www.prc.cm
REPUBLIC OF CAMEROON Paix - Travail - Patrie PRESIDENCE DE LA REPUBLIQUE CABINET CIVIL CELLULE DE COMMUNICATION REPUBLIC OF CAMEROON Peace - Work - Fatherland PRESIDENCY OF THE REPUBLIC CIVIL CABINET COMMUNICATION UNIT
# The Sovereign Military Order of Malta
Brief historical reminder
The Sovereign Military Hospitaller Order of Saint John of Jerusalem, of Rhodes and of Malta, better known as the Sovereign Order of Malta, was founded in the 11th Century as a monastic community inspired by Saint John the Baptist. This community ran a hospice to welcome and care for the pilgrims who went to the Holy Land. It was officially recognised in 1113 as a religious order by Pope Paschal II. The Sovereign Order of Malta is thus considered one of the oldest Catholic religious orders.
This lay religious Order, by tradition military, chivalrous and nobiliary, ceased to fulfil the military function after the fall of Malta in 1798 by the troops of Napoleon Bonaparte. The military function, instituted in the 12th Century, was designed to protect pilgrims and the sick. To this day, the chivalrous and noble tradition remains even if the members are no longer just from the nobility.
Status of the Order
The Order is a subject of public international law, exercising functional sovereignty different from state sovereignty. Its motto is, in Latin: “Tuitio Fidei et Obsequium Pauperum” (“Protection of faith and service to the poor”). The Order issues stamps, passports, and coins. It maintains diplomatic relations with 106 countries around the world and has observer status at the UN. Its headquarters are in Rome and its locations benefit from extraterritoriality.
In the field of international politics, the Sovereign Order of Malta is neutral, impartial and apolitical. It can act as a mediator whenever a State requests its intervention to help settle a dispute.
The members
Before the capture of the island of Malta, most Knights (members of the Order) were religious with vows of poverty, chastity and obedience. Today, while some members of the Order are professed Knights (those who have made the three vows), others have simply made the promise of obedience.
The majority of the 13,500 Knights and Dames of the Order of Malta are lay people. You can only become a member by invitation. Only persons of high moral character, practicing Catholics, who have acquired years of important merit vis-à-vis the Order, its institutions and
its works, can be admitted. The Grand Priory (monastery) or the National Association of Territorial Jurisdiction are responsible for admission proposals.