Today, the Sovereign Military Order of Malta’s Grand Chancellor, Riccardo Paternò di Montecupo, received the Foreign Minister of the Republic of Peru, Carlos José Pareja Ríos, in the Magistral Palace. The meeting highlights the Order’s renewed focus on Latin America, a region with which it has long-standing ties and where its national associations and social impact works continue to play a key role. As the minister himself noted, while he expressed great appreciation for the Order’s activities in the country, this is the first visit of a Peruvian Foreign Minister to the Order of Malta, and as such constitutes an important landmark.

During the cordial discussions, there was particular emphasis on finalising the Cooperation Agreement between the Order of Malta and Peru, an important tool to promote and facilitate new joint initiatives in the fields of health and social care and emergency management.

Within the framework of the Order’s social and humanitarian presence in the region, the Order of Malta Donors for Projects Foundation (OMDP) was also cited – established in 2024 to support small and medium development projects for healthcare, education, food security, vocational training, women’s empowerment and sustainable development. Currently, three OMDP projects are already active in Latin America, and it is hoped that Peru will also benefit in the future from new initiatives developed in collaboration with the Order of Malta Peruvian Association, the embassy and local authorities.

Also on the agenda was the intensified diplomatic dialogue with the Americas, following the recent meeting between the Sovereign Order of Malta and Ambassadors of the Latin American and Caribbean Group (GRULAC), which also included the Peruvian Ambassador to the Order of Malta. The upcoming Conference of the Americas of the Sovereign Order of Malta, scheduled in Buenos Aires from 22 to 25 October 2026, was also highlighted. This event will bring together associations, relief corps and embassies in the region alongside the Order’s government to coordinate new regional initiatives. The conference will be followed by a series of official visits by the Grand Master to several countries in the Southern Cone and is part of the Order’s renewed interest and commitment towards Latin America and the Caribbean.

It was agreed to continue dialogue on key regional initiatives, including the process for recognising the Sovereign Order of Malta as Permanent Observer at the Organisation of American States (OAS), with the belief that closer cooperation with countries in the region could help achieve a more effective response to humanitarian emergencies and the needs of the most vulnerable populations.
The meeting also provided an opportunity to recall the celebrations for the 70th anniversary of diplomatic relations, held in April 2023 in Rome and Lima. In Rome, the thanksgiving Mass at the Church of St. Mary on the Aventine was presided over by Msgr. Robert Francis Prevost, then Prefect of the Dicastery for Bishops and President of the Pontifical Commission for Latin America, now Pope Leo XIV.

The Order of Malta’s Humanitarian Work in Peru
The Order of Malta is present in Peru through its Peruvian Association, founded in 1951, the Malteser Perú volunteer corps and Malteser International. Over the decades it has developed a wide range of initiatives in health, social care and civil protection. These include building a pavilion for leprosy patients in the 1950s and later a hospital in the Villa María del Triunfo district, reconstruction efforts after the 2007 earthquake, disaster-risk reduction and emergency response programmes, together with the rescue operation launched during Cyclone Yaku in 2023, projects supporting Amazonian communities, social canteens, shelters for minors and trafficking victims, and elderly care facilities. The continuous support for the inclusive educational centre is likewise particularly significant. Also noteworthy is the support for the SOMM inclusive education centre in Villa María del Triunfo, Lima, in which the Order has been active for some sixty years through educational programmes, infrastructure projects and initiatives for the most vulnerable children and families, reaffirming its long-standing commitment to serving people in vulnerable situations in the country.