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Order of Malta Australia

News

Audience of the Grand Master with the Holy Father

19/06/2023 


Pope Francis named Cardinal Gianfranco Ghirlanda Patron of the Order of Malta

Rome 19 June 2023 – The Grand Master of the Sovereign Military Order of Malta, Fra’ John Dunlap, was received in audience by Pope Francis this morning at the Vatican. The meeting, which takes place a few days after the Holy Father was discharged from hospital, is the first since Fra’ John Dunlap was elected 81st Grand Master of the Order of Malta on 3rd May last.

The audience offered the opportunity to review the most important commitments, starting with aid for refugees and displaced persons, increasingly at the centre of the Order of Malta’s humanitarian programmes. From the Ukraine to disasters in the Mediterranean Sea – about which the Pontiff returned in his Sunday Angelus address – Fra’ John Dunlap illustrated the main activities and initiatives of the Order of Malta’s Relief and Volunteer Corps, Associations and Grand Priories, present in 120 countries with a network of 95.000 volunteers and 52.000 doctors, nurses and emergency response experts.

Pope Francis listened attentively to the Grand Master’s words, exhorting the Order of Malta to continue its millenary mission of assistance and charity to face the many global challenges.

At the end of the conversation, the Grand Master presented the Pope with a silver medal depicting the birth of the 100,000th child in the Holy Family Hospital in Bethlehem, run by the Order of Malta, last January. The Pontiff reciprocated with a plate of Caltagirone ceramic depicting the papal coat of arms.

At the end of the audience Pope Francis received the Sovereign Council of the Order of Malta and the Order of Malta’s Ambassador to the Holy See Antonio Zanardi Landi.

Fra’ John Dunlap and the Grand Chancellor Riccardo Paternò di Montecupo also met the Secretary of State of the Holy See, Cardinal Pietro Parolin.

Earlier today, Pope Francis also appointed Cardinal Gianfranco Ghirlanda as the Order of Malta’s new Patronus. The Cardinal Patron has the task of promoting the spiritual interests of the Order and its Members as well as the relations between the Holy See and the Order.

 

Photo-Credit: Vatican Media

The Australian Association

The Australian Association, formed in 1974, currently has in excess of 300 members and aspirant members across every State and Territory of Australia. We also have ongoing and strong links with the Order’s National Associations throughout the Asia Pacific Region including in Singapore and the Philippines and with members of the Order in New Zealand, Hong Kong SAR, Thailand and Korea. The Order of Malta is committed to serving Our Lords the Poor and Sick worldwide and has done so for over 900 years. This website shares with you the history, mission and current activities of the Order of Malta in Australia, and provides links to the work of the Order world-wide.