On Candlemas, 2nd February, the Sovereign Order of Malta’s Grand Master, Fra’ John Dunlap, gave Pope Leo XIV, as per tradition, a blessed candle in the Magistral Chapel. The candle was lit yesterday during the General Audience, celebrated in conjunction with the World Day of the Sick.

This celebration has a particularly profound significance since it is the first anniversary of the ceremony awarding the insignia of Bailiff Grand Cross of Honor and Devotion to the then Cardinal Robert Francis Prevost: a spiritual bond that is renewed and reinforced in service to the poor and sick.