The pope met with the representative of one of the most active institutions when it comes to helping refugees, the Order of Malta. In fact, this topic was one of the main points of the meeting between Pope Francis and Fra 'Giacomo Dalla Torre, the Grand Master of the Order.
Dalla Torre explained the efforts that members and volunteers of the Order are making in the Mediterranean Sea and in other parts of the world to alleviate the crisis.
The Order of Malta was one of the groups to take care of the medical needs of the refugees' the Italian government refused to accept in their country, since they were helped by an NGO. The ship was then diverted to Spain. The Italian interior minister accuses the NGOs of illegally profiting at the cost of this crisis.
The other important point of the meeting between the two was the Order of Malta's reform process. It began in 2017, after surpassing a period of internal disputes that ended with the resignation of Matthew Festing, the predecessor of Fra 'Giacomo Dalla Torre.
Pope Francis gave the Grand Master the medallion that shows St. Martin of Tours helping a needy person. Fra 'Giacomo then gave the pope a medal of the World Day of the Poor.
'We try to make your teachings and what you say concrete.'
The Order of Malta carries out humanitarian work in 120 countries and has diplomatic relations with 107 States.
