Sovereign Order of Malta’s 80th
Grand Master swears oath
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| Fra'Giacomo Dalla Torre del Tempio di Sanguinetto, Grand Master of the Sovereign Order of Malta.- ANSA |
Fra’ Giacomo Dalla Torre del Tempio di Sanguinetto, elected
Grand Master of the Sovereign Order of Malta swore oath on Thursday in the
Church of Santa Maria in Aventino. We spoke to the Order's Grand Hospitaller
about the humanitarian mission at the heart of the Order and about its
presence, in situations of conflict, difficulty and need, across the globe.
By Linda Bordoni
The 80th Grand Master of the Sovereign Order of Malta
is Fra’ Giacomo Dalla Torre del Tempio di Sanguinetto.
He was elected by the Order’s elective body on May 2nd, and
he swore oath on May 3rd in the Church of Santa Maria in Aventino, before the
Council Complete of State and before Archbishop Angelo Becciu, the Pope's
Special Delegate.
The Sovereign Military Hospitaller Order of St. John of
Jerusalem of Rhodes and of Malta was founded in Jerusalem around the
year 1048. It is a lay religious order of the Catholic Church and a subject of
international law. The Grand Master is elected for life.
Fra’ Dalla Torre will be responsible for continuing the
reform of the Constitution of the Order of Malta started in 2017, to adapt it
to the development that the Order has experienced in recent decades.
As the Grand Hospitaller of the Sovereign
Order of Malta, Prince Dominique de La Rochefoucauld-Montbel,
explained to Linda Bordoni, at the heart of the Order's activities is its
mission to witness the faith and give assistance to the poor and the sick.
He also spoke of its outreach in the world today.
The Grand Hospitaller explained that today the Order of
Malta is mainly active in health and social care and humanitarian aid,
operating in 120 countries.
It counts over 13,500 members who are supported by 80,000
volunteers, with another 45,000 doctors, nurses and paramedics.
Those numbers, he said, are easily doubled if one counts the
partnerships the Order has with its Protestant and Anglican confreres of the
“Alliance” in the spheres of health care and social care.
Health care and social care
de La Rochefoucauld says that the Order of Malta provides
high quality medical service in countries across the world, mostly in Africa,
where it runs major hospitals.
He says it has also developed a thick network of services
for the poor and for the homeless with shelters, soup kitchens and medical
assistance.
Migrants and refugees
The Sovereign Order of Malta, the Gran Hospitaller explains,
is also increasingly on the front line in assisting and accompanying migrants
and refugees. It is currently engaged in the countries bordering Syria and Iraq
to provide aid for thousands fleeing the conflict.
He says it also plays a major role in the search and rescue
operations taking place in the Mediterranean together with the Italian navy and
says that: “up to now, since 2008, we have helped over a million people”.
Natural disasters and forgotten emergencies
de La Rochefoucauld also speaks of the presence of the Order
in emergency situations caused by natural disasters and climate change, and
points out how it has become increasingly embedded in societies and communities
which it assists, giving it unique tools and experience in supporting long-term
development programmes.
Faith-based organization
de La Rochefoucauld concludes pointing out that the Order is
deeply rooted in Christian values and at its core is the mission “to see
through the needy the figure of Christ”.
He stresses that the Order never imposes itself on a
community or a country and that it strives to become a partner for the good of
humanity.
“It’s easier to manipulate and to instrumentalise religion
than to live it on an every-day basis” he says, but what we do is try to live
our faith on an every-day basis, to share what we have and strive to understand
the other “and that really works out!”
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