Today, Thursday 20 February, in the Magistral Chapel, the Grand Master Fra’ John Dunlap has admitted to the Sovereign Order of Malta, with dignity and rank of Bailiff Grand Cross of Honour and Devotion, Cardinal Claudio Gugerotti, Prefect of the Dicastery for the Eastern Churches.

The ceremony was attended by Cardinal Silvano Maria Tomasi, the Grand Chancellor, Riccardo Paternò di Montecupo, the Receiver of the Common Treasure, Fabrizio Colonna di Paliano, Fra’ Thomas Mulligan, member of the Sovereign Council, the Ambassador of the Order to the Holy See, Antonio Zanardi Landi and the Ambassador of the Order to the Republic of San Marino, Marcello Celestini.

Cardinal Claudio Gugerotti, born in Verona in 1955, has been Prefect of the Dicastery for the Eastern Churches since 2023.

He was ordained a priest in 1982 and studied eastern languages, liturgy and ecclesiastical sciences. He entered the Congregation for the Oriental Churches in 1985 and became under-secretary in 1997.

He was appointed archbishop in 2002, and served as apostolic nuncio in various countries of the eastern Christian tradition such as Georgia, Armenia, Azerbaijan, Belarus, Ukraine and Great Britain.

Created Cardinal by Pope Francis in 2023, he is member of various Vatican Dicasteries and of the Pontifical Commission for Vatican City State; as well as of various committees of international relevance.