The Order of St. John was founded before the taking of Jerusalem (1099 First Crusade). It began as a monastic community, dedicated to St. John the Baptist, which administered a hospice-infirmary for pilgrims to the Holy Land.

Originally connected with the Benedictines, it became, under Blessed Gerard Sasso di Scala († 1120), an independent organisation. By the Bull of 15 February 1113, addressed to Gerard, Pope Paschal II approved the foundation of the Hospital of St. John, placed it under the protection of the church, and ensured its right of freely electing its heads, Gerard’s successors, without interference from any other ecclesiastical or lay authority. In virtue of this Bull and other subsequent Papal acts, the Hospital became an exempt Order of the Church.

The political situation after the Crusaders had established the Kingdom of Jerusalem forced the Order, now under its second head (and the first to be styled Master), Fra’ Raymond du Puy or del Poggio, was obliged to assume the military defence of the sick, the pilgrims, and the Christian territory which the Crusaders had won back from the Muslims. Accordingly, the Order of the Hospital of St. John acquired the additional character of an Order of Knighthood. The Knights were also Religious, bound by the three monastic vows of Obedience, Chastity, and Poverty. It thus became a persona mixta, a religious-military (militia religiosa, religio militaris) order. Fra’ Raymond du Puy introduced the first rule of the Order and also the white octagonal cross which has remained the Order’s emblem (the Maltese Cross).

While continuing on a vast scale its hospitaller activity (obsequium pauperum - service of the poor - one of its two aims), the Order pursued valiantly its other aim, the defence of Christendom (tuitio fidei - protection of the Faith). Unfortunately, in 1291, Acre, the last Christian stronghold in the Holy Land was lost and the Order settled temporarily in Cyprus.

From the beginning, the Order’s independence of all other States, in virtue of Papal acts, and its universally recognised right to maintain armed forces and wage war constituted its international sovereignty.

With the occupation of the island of Rhodes, completed in 1310 under the Grand Master Fra’ Foulques de Villaret, the Order acquired full territorial sovereignty and the Knights of St. John came to be called Knights of Rhodes. The island faced Muslim territorial and naval might and became a bastion of Christendom in the eastern Mediterranean.

The military defence of Christendom now of necessity required naval action. Accordingly, the Order came to possess a powerful fleet which patrolled the eastern Mediterranean and engaged in many renowned battles with the enemy. It took part in the crusades in Syria and in Egypt and brought aid to the Christian Kingdom of Armenia (Cilicia).

The members of the Order who came to Rhodes from all over Europe, as well as the establishments of the Order in Europe, were from the beginning of the fourteenth century grouped according to languages spoken. There were thus, initially, seven such groups of Langues (Tongues): Provence, Auvergne, France, Italy, Aragon (Navarre), England (with Scotland and Ireland) and Germany. In 1462 Castile and Portugal separated from the Langue of Aragon and formed together the eighth Langue. In the sixteenth century the Langue of England was suppressed and later, in 1782, temporarily re-established under the name of the Anglo-Bavarian Langue. Each Langue was composed of Priories or Grand Priories, Bailiwicks, and Commanderies. The Order was ruled by the Grand Master and the Council, minted its own money and maintained diplomatic relations with other States. The Grand Master was Prince of Rhodes, as later he was Prince of Malta. The high offices of the Order were attributed to representatives of different Langues; and the seat of the Order, the Convent, was in effect composed of a number of national religious houses.

The Knights gallantly repulsed numerous Turkish assaults, until the Sultan Suleyman the Magnificent attacked Rhodes with a large fleet and a powerful army. On Christmas Eve of 1522 the Knights were forced to capitulate and, on 10 January 1523, left the island with military honours. For the next seven years the Order, while vested with international sovereignty, was deprived of territory, until the cession by the Emperor Charles V (in his capacity as King of Sicily) of the islands of Malta, Gozo, and Comino, as well as Tripoli in North Africa, in sovereign fief. On 26 October 1530 the Grand Master Fra’ Philippe de Villiers de l’Isle-Adam took possession of Malta, with the approbation of Pope Clement VII. It was stipulated that the Order was to remain neutral in wars between Christian nations.

Yet the war of defence of Christendom continued. The Turks attacked Malta, but in the Great Siege, from 18 May to 8 September 1565, were finally routed by the Knights led by the heroic Grand Master Fra’ Jean de La Vallette (after whom the island’s capital Valletta is named). The decline of Ottoman sea power dates from this defeat. The navy of the Order of St. John (or of Malta as it now came to be called) became one of the most powerful in the Mediterranean and took part in the final destruction of the Ottoman naval might in the great battle of Lepanto in 1571.

In 1607 and again in 1620, the dignity of Grand Master was conjoined with the title of Prince of the Holy Roman Empire and in 1630 with the rank equal to the dignity of a Cardinal of the Holy Roman Church with the style of Eminence.

In 1798, Bonaparte, engaged in a campaign against Egypt, occupied the island of Malta and drove out the Order. The Knights again found themselves without a home. The British occupied Malta in 1801 and though the Treaty of Amiens (1802) recognised the Order’s sovereign rights over the island, it has never been able to avail itself of them. After temporary seats in Messina, Catania and Ferrara the Order finally established itself in 1834 in Rome, where it holds, extra-territorially, Malta Palace at 68 Via Condotti and the Magistral Villa on the Aventine.

Hospitaller service, the Order's original aim, became once again its main concern. The hospital and welfare activities, undertaken on a considerable scale in World War I, were greatly intensified and expanded in World War II under the Grand Master Fra’ Ludovico Chigi della Rovere Albani. The activities of the Order have been further expanded under the rule of Grand Master Fra’ Angelo de Mojana di Cologna (1962-1988), who was succeeded by the present Prince and Grand Master, Fra’ Andrew Bertie.

The Order of Malta constitutes the sole unbroken continuation of the Order of the Hospital of St. John recognised in 1113. It alone is a religious Order of the Catholic Church and at the same time a Catholic Order of Knighthood. It alone contains the governing nucleus of the professed Knights of Justice, direct successors of its founders, from among whom the Grand Master and most of the members of the Sovereign Council are elected, the members are of a higher rank than the non-professed Knights, grown numerous since the fall of Malta. It has never ceased to be recognised by the community of nations as sovereign and independent of any civil power. These facts constitute the irrefutable proof of the Order’s unique historical identity and authenticity, to which no other organisation can lay claim.

The sovereignty of the Order is exercised on a level of three powers: the legislature, the General Chapter, representing the Knights, and, complementary to it, the Grand Master with the Sovereign Council, who also wield executive power, whereas the judiciary is vested in the Order's own Courts of Law. The Grand Master is the Supreme Head of the Order and is elected by the Council Complete of State. Both the General Chapter and the Council Complete of State contain representatives of the Grand Priories, Priories, Sub-Priories, and National Associations, into which the Order is territorially divided throughout the world.

The full title of the Grand Master is, in Latin: Dei gratia Sacrae Domus Hospitalis Sancti Johannis Hierosolymitani et militaris Ordinis Sancti Sepulchri Dominici magister humilis pauperumque Jesu Christi custos. A part of this title commemorates the granting to the Grand Master d’Aubusson of the Mastership of the Order of the Holy Sepulchre by Pope Innocent VIII in 1489, which grant proved temporary. Enjoying the precedence of a Cardinal and therefore that of a Royal Prince as well as the dignity of Prince of the Holy Roman Empire (recognised later by Austria and Italy), and formerly a reigning Prince of Rhodes and then of Malta, the Grand Master is styled both Eminence and Highness, or Most Eminent Highness, and is internationally recognised as a Chief of State and sovereign honours are vested in him.

The Grand Master governs the Order with the assistance of the Sovereign Council, presided over by himself and composed of the four High Officers of the Grand Magistry elected by the General Chapter: the Grand Commander, the Grand Chancellor, the Grand Hospitaller, and the Receiver of the Common Treasure, as well as of six Councillors. The holders of these offices are chosen from among the professed Knights and the Knights in Obedience. The Sovereign Pontiff nominates as his representative to the Order a Cardinal of the Holy Roman Church, styled Cardinalis Patronus: the latter is assisted by the Prelate of the Order, who is likewise appointed by the Sovereign Pontiff. The Prelate of the Order is the ecclesiastical superior of the Order’s clergy and the Grand Master’s assistant in the care for the spiritual welfare.

The life and activities of the Order are regulated by the Constitutional Charter, approved by the Holy See, and the Code. Juridical questions and problems of interest and importance for the Order are dealt with by the Consultative Juridical Council, appointed by the Grand Master with the consent of the Sovereign Council. The Order has its own Courts of Law of First Instance and Courts of Appeal, with the Presidents, Judges, Promoters of Justice, and Auxiliaries appointed by the Grand Master with the deliberative vote of the Sovereign Council. A Board of Auditors, elected by the General Chapter, controls the Order's income and the expenditures. Under the provisions of International Law, the Order maintains diplomatic relations, with the Holy See and with the following States, for a total of 83 States.

The Order has official relations at the level of Ambassador to the Russian Federation; moreover, it maintains Delegations in Belgium, France, Germany, Luxembourg, Monaco and Switzerland, as well as at the Council of Europe and the Commission of the European Union. From 1994 the Order has been admitted as Permanent Observer to the United Nations: in this capacity, it maintains Permanent Delegations to the International Organisations in New York, Geneva, Paris, Rome and Vienna.

The Sovereign Order is present in over 100 countries on all continents through its national, and international bodies, foundations and co-ordination centres. The Order's humanitarian action includes the management of over 100 hospitals and health centres. It provides assistance during natural disasters and wars by setting up refugee centres and field hospitals, distributing medicines and basic necessities. Its specific interventions include the fight against leprosy and assistance to terminal patients. Around 40 Relief Services (over 80,000 permanent volunteers) are active in various crisis areas with units created in cooperation with the Order's national and international bodies.

(Taken from the Annuaire 1998/1999 and up-dated 31st July 1999)

further history:
The Knights of Malta - A legend aiming towards the future - by Marcello Maria Marrocco Trischitta