Rome, 21 September 2022 – The President of the Italian Republic Sergio Mattarella received the Sovereign Order of Malta’s Lieutenant of the Grand Master Fra’ John Dunlap today at the Quirinale. The visit took place in an atmosphere of great cordiality and was an opportunity to reaffirm the strong ties and fruitful cooperation between the Order of Malta and the Italian authorities.

During the meeting, the Lieutenant of the Grand Master explained to the President of the Republic the Order of Malta’s activities on the five continents. Particular reference was made to the support and assistance network set up since the outbreak of war for the Ukrainian population, both inside the country and in the surrounding regions. These activities, explained Fra’ John Dunlap, are accompanied by the commitment of Order of Malta’s diplomatic network, which currently enjoys diplomatic relations with 112 states.

Mention was made of the Sovereign Order of Malta’s intense diplomatic activity on both a bilateral and multilateral level, closely linked to and in support of humanitarian action and in defence of human dignity and human rights. It was also stressed that the Order of Malta’s new Constitutional Charter reaffirms both the Order of Malta’s sovereignty and its nature as a religious order.

Today is the first meeting of the new Lieutenant of the Grand Master and the Order’s high offices with a foreign Head of State. It is the fifth official meeting of the Order of Malta’s highest office with the President of the Italian Republic in the last 20 years.

The meeting was also attended by the Grand Chancellor, Riccardo Paternò di Montecupo, the Grand Hospitaller, Fra’ Alessandro de Franciscis, the Receiver of the Common Treasure, Fabrizio Colonna, the member of the Sovereign Council, Fra’ Roberto Viazzo, the Order of Malta’s Ambassador to the Holy See and member of the Sovereign Council, Antonio Zanardi Landi, and the Order of Malta’s Ambassador to Italy, Stefano Ronca.