Pope Francis receives Grand Master of Order of Malta
Pope Francis receives in audience Fra' John Dunlap, Grand Master of the Sovereign Military Order of Malta at the Vatican.
By Vatican News
Pope Francis' audience Thursday morning with Fra' John Dunlap, Grand Master of the Sovereign Military Order of Malta, lasted 25 minutes and focused on the humanitarian work carried out by the Order around the world.
According to tradition, the meeting took place a few days after the feast of Saint John the Baptist, patron of the Order of Malta, celebrated on June 24.
Members of the Sovereign Council and the Ambassador of the Order of Malta to the Holy See, Antonio Zanardi Landi, were also present. Then, the Grand Master and the Grand Chancellor, Riccardo Paternò di Montecupo, had a meeting with Archbishop Paul Richard Gallagher, Vatican Secretary for Relations with States and International Organizations.
According to a statement issued by the Order of Malta, the discussion was characterized by great cordiality and was an opportunity to describe the main spiritual, humanitarian and diplomatic activities of the Order carried out over the past year in 120 countries, involving a network of 13,500 members, 100,000 volunteers, 52,000 employees and more than 100 diplomatic missions.
Humanitarian aid in Ukraine and the Holy Land
The Order's website reports that assistance to the Ukrainian population, which includes medical and social support, distribution of food and medicine, transportation and reception points in various locations of Ukraine and countries neighbors, was a key topic of conversation.
Discussions also focused on the presence of the Order of Malta in the Holy Land, where it manages the Holy Family Hospital in Bethlehem, which has seen the birth of more than 100,000 babies since 1990 and is the only hospital with a neonatal intensive care unit in the region. .
Recently, the Order launched an aid program for the population of Gaza in collaboration with the Latin Patriarchate of Jerusalem.
Gifts
At the end of the meeting, Fra' Dunlap presented Pope Francis with a medal representing Our Lady of Mount Philermo, symbol of the Marian spirituality of the Order of Malta. The pope reciprocated with a bronze bas-relief of Saints Peter and Paul and papal documents.
