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New Grand Master for Knights of Malta
By MaltaMedia News
Mar 12, 2008 - 11:10:48 AM
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The Sovereign Military Hospitaller Order of St. John of Jerusalem of Rhodes and of Malta has a new Grand Master, Fra Matthew Festing, a 58-year-old Englishman.
The 79th Grand Master was elected on Tuesday morning by the Order's electoral body. Fra Festing succeeds Fra Andrew Bertie, 78th Grand Master (1988-2008), who died on February 7th.
Fra Matthew has been the Grand Prior of England since the Priory's re-establishment in 1993 and has led missions of humanitarian aid to Kosovo, Serbia and Croatia. He has served in the Grenadier Guards and holds the rank of colonel in the Territorial Army.
Fra Matthew was appointed Officer of the Order of the British Empire (OBE) by the Queen and has served as her Deputy Lieutenant in the county of Northumberland for a number of years.
In 1977 Fra Matthew became a member of the Order of Malta, taking solemn religious vows in 1991.
He received his education at Ampleforth and St. John's College Cambridge, where he read history. For most of his professional life, Fra Matthew worked at an international art auction house. As a child he lived in Egypt and Singapore, where his father, Field Marshal Sir Francis Festing, Chief of the Imperial General Staff, had earlier postings. He is also descended from Sir Adrian Fortescue, a knight of Malta, martyred in 1539.
The Order’s Constitution demands that the Grand Master, as the sovereign and religious head of the Order, must fully dedicate himself to the development of the works of the Order and to living by Christian principles. In the religious hierarchy within the Catholic Church he holds the rank of cardinal and holds residence at the Order's seat of government in Via Condotti in Rome.
© Copyright 2008 by MaltaMedia.com
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Latest update:
Mar 13, 2008 - 5:49:41 PM CET
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