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Loading ...KNIGHTS OF ST JOHN OF MALTA
Travel to Malta to experience the extraordinary history and legacy of the Knights of St John of Malta, and learn more about the medieval Templars, Grail symbolism, the connections between the Knights Hospitaller (St John) and the Knights Templar.
Experience the famed Knights of St. John’s Cathedral. See the early mystical symbols carved in the walls, ceiling and etched on the marble floors. It houses some of Europe’s greatest art works, here also lies the founder of Valletta — and 49th Grand Master of the Knights of St John of Malta — Jean Parisot de la Vallette. Admire the sumptuous 16th century Grand Masters Palace, with its splendidly grand rooms, now Malta’s Presidential Office and Parliament House.
Malta is home to the Knights of St. John of Malta. Also known as the Sovereign Military Hospitaller Order of St. John of Jerusalem of Rhodes and of Malta, Order of St. John, Sovereign Order of Saint John of Jerusalem of Rhodes and of Malta, Knights of Malta, Knights of Rhodes and Chevaliers of Malta. It is a Christian organization founded in Jerusalem in 1080. They provided care for the poor and sick pilgrims who were travelling to the Holy Land. In 1099 they became a religious/military order during the first crusade and they were to care and defend the Holy Land. In 1530 King Charles V of Spain gave the Order, Malta, Gozo and the port of Tripoli in exchange for an annual fee of one Maltese Falcon. (hence the movie of the same name) In 1565 Suleiman sent an invasion force of 40,000 men to besiege the 700 Knights and 8000 Soldiers. Suleiman’s forces were not successful.
The siege is portrayed vividly in the frescoes of Matteo Perez d’Aleccio in the Hall of St. Michael and St. George, also known as the Throne Room, in the Grand Master’s Palace in Valletta. After the siege a new city had to be built – the present city named Valletta in memory of the Grand Master who had withstood the siege.
After the victory of Napoleon in 1798 the Order’s numbers were much depleted and dispersed across Europe and Russia, where they continued to exist to this day though in a diminished form. In 1834, the revived Order established a new headquarters in Rome. The ‘Sovereign Military Hospitaller Order of Saint John of Jerusalem, of Rhodes and of Malta,’ better known as the Sovereign Military Order of Malta (SMOM) Recently the Order has returned to Malta, after signing an agreement with the Maltese Government which granted the Order the exclusive use of Fort St. Angelo for a term of 99 years. Today, after restoration, the Fort hosts historical and cultural activities related to the Order of Malta.
On the 13th of March, 2008, the 79th Grand Master was sworn in. He is Fra Matthew Festing an Englishman. Fra Matthew became a member of the order in 1977 and took his solemn religious vows in 1991. And so the Knights of St. John of Malta continue.
For those of you with an interest in the history of the Knights what better place to visit than Malta. It’s capital Valetta is the perfect place to learn about this fascinating order of Knights and to see the Historical sites relating to them.
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