The Knights of Malta, the ancient Roman Catholic aristocratic Lay Order that weathered a governance scandal last year, has elected an Italian nobleman as its leader for life.
The 54 electors on Wednesday chose Fra' Giacomo Dalla Torre del Tempio di Sanguinetto as Grand Master. The 73-year-old Dalla Torre had been serving as the Lieutenant Grand Master since last year — a temporary post that now becomes a life term with his election as the 80th grand master in the Order's 900-year history.
The Knights' governance crisis was sparked by a condom distribution scandal that ended when Pope Francis intervened to oust the Knights' previous Grand Master. The Papal intervention and subsequent Vatican-accompanied reform was remarkable given the Knights have many of the trappings of a sovereign state.
The electors, who form the Council Complete of State, completed the voting in one morning. They chose their new Grand Master from among 12 eligible Knights, who have taken solemn vows of poverty, chastity and obedience.
In early 2017, Fra' Matthew Festing resigned as the order's grand master at the behest of Pope Francis, who had established a commission to investigate his removal of the Order's Grand Chancellor, Albrecht Freiherr von Boeselager.
Festing refused to cooperate with the investigation and insisted the firing of von Boeselager was a sovereign act outside the Vatican's jurisdiction, although the Knights take a vow of obedience to the Pope.
Although von Boeselager was reinstated as Grand Chancellor, his firing and the Pope's intervention drew public attention to disputes within the order, which is known mainly for its massive programs around the world to provide medical care to the poor and humanitarian relief following disasters and to assist migrants and refugees.
According to a Knights' press release, "The Grand Master is elected for life by the Council Complete of State from among the professed Knights with at least 10 years in solemn vows if they are younger than 50 years of age; in the case of professed Knights who are older, but who have been members of the order for at least 10 years, three years in solemn vows are sufficient."
To be eligible for election as Grand Master, the candidate also must have demonstrated that he came from a noble family.
Newly-elected Grand Master Dalla Torre was born in Rome Dec. 9, 1944, and studied Christian archaeology and art history at the University of Rome. He taught classical Greek at Rome's Pontifical Urbanian University and served as the university's chief librarian and archivist. He has been a member of the Knights of Malta since 1985 and made his solemn profession of vows in 1993.
Perhaps, the election of a new Grand Master will end the spectacle of past scandals and allow the Knights of Malta to re-focus their efforts and energies on the noble work which has been the patrimony for centuries.
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