Former Grand Master of the Sovereign Order of Malta, Fra' Matthew Festing, has died in Malta at 71.
He was elected Grand Master of the Knights of Malta in 2008 and served as the Order's leader until he resigned in 2017 at the request of Pope Francis.
The Pope asked Festing to resign in order to end a series of disputes within the Order, and created a group to investigate and reform its internal government.
Festing was born in northern England in 1949. He served in the British Army and later worked as a consultant art expert. He was the Order's 79th Grand Master.
The Knights of Malta is a lay religious order founded in the 11th century to care for sick pilgrims to the Holy Land. Today it provides humanitarian aid to vulnerable persons in 120 countries around the globe. It is a sovereign entity which maintains diplomatic relations with over 100 countries, and even issues its own passports.
JM
