The head of the Knights of Malta,
Fra' Matthew Festing, had agreed to Pope Francis' request for
him to resign from his post, sources said Wednesday.
He must now present his resignation to the supreme council of
the Catholic lay religious order, which is expected to gather
later on Wednesday or Thursday for the occasion.
Festing, whose official title is Prince and Grand Master of
the Sovereign Military Order of Malta (SMOM), was asked to
resign in relation to the December ouster of grand chancellor,
Albrecht Freiherr, over revelations that the order's charity arm
had distributed condoms in Myanmar under his watch.
Freiherr's dismissal was reportedly backed by the
conservative cardinal Raymond Burke, the pope's envoy to the
order, against Francis' advice.
The ouster led to a period of internal division within the
order, culminating in Festing's meeting with the pope on
Tuesday.
SMOM, the smallest sovereign State in the world, runs a large
charity-hospital organization around the world, and has recently
provided humanitarian aid for countless refugees and migrants.
The Knights of Malta, as they are more widely known, were
founded on the Mediterranean in the 11th century as a military
religious order like the Templars.
They were removed from Malta by Napoleon.
Headquartered in Palazzo Malta in Rome, their mission is
summed up in their motto: "Tuitio Fidei et Obsequium Pauperum";
protecting the Catholic Church and serving those in need.
ALL RIGHTS RESERVED © Copyright ANSA
