Fra’ Giacomo Dalla Torre del Tempio di Sanguinetto was this morning elected Lieutenant of the Grand Master of the Sovereign Order of Malta. The electing body, the Council Complete of State, met in the Magistral Villa in Rome, one of the Order of Malta’s two institutional seats.

The newly elected Lieutenant of the Grand Master will swear his Oath before the Pope’s Special Delegate to the Sovereign Order of Malta, Archbishop Angelo Becciu, and the members of the Council Complete of State tomorrow morning in the Church of Santa Maria in Aventino.

Fra’ Giacomo Dalla Torre del Tempio di Sanguinetto succeeds Fra’ Matthew Festing, 79th Grand Master, who resigned on 28 January 2017.

Pope Francis has been informed by letter of the election result. All the Order of Malta’s Grand Priories, Subpriories and National Associations around the world have been informed, as well as the representatives of the 106 countries with which the Order maintains diplomatic relations.

The new Lieutenant of the Grand Master, elected for a one-year mandate, affirms his commitment to work closely with the Order’s Sovereign Council in advancing the diplomatic, social and humanitarian activities and to nourish the spiritual life and the commitment of its 13,500 members as well as that of its more than 100,000 volunteers and employees.

Profile of Fra’ Giacomo Dalla Torre del Tempio di Sanguinetto
Fra’ Giacomo was born 1944 in Rome. He graduated in Humanities from the University of Rome, specialising in Christian Archeology and History of Art. He took up academic posts at the Pontifical Urbaniana Institute, teaching classical Greek. He was also Chief Librarian and Archivist for the Institute’s important collections and has published a range of essays and articles on aspects of medieval art history.

He became a member of the Sovereign Order in 1985 and took his Solemn Vows in 1993. From 1994-1999 he was Grand Prior of Lombardy and Venice and from 1999 to 2004, a member of the Sovereign Council. At the Chapter General of 2004 he was elected Grand Commander of the Order and on the death of the 78th Grand Master, Fra’ Andrew Bertie, he became the Lieutenant ad interim. From 2008 Fra’ Giacomo Dalla Torre has held the post of Grand Prior of Rome.

The first official engagement of the new Lieutenant of the Grand Master will be the 59^th Order of Malta International Pilgrimage to Lourdes, which will take place from 5 to 9 May. Every year, over 7,000 members and volunteers from all over the world take part in the pilgrimage, assisting around 1,500 sick and disabled pilgrims. The pilgrimage to Lourdes represents one of the most significant moments in the spiritual life of the Order’s members and volunteers.

The Constitutional reform
One of the most important tasks of Fra’ Giacomo Dalla Torre del Tempio di Sanguinetto during his one year mandate, is to work on the reform process of the Constitution and Code of the Order.

The Constitutional Charter was promulgated in June 1961 and was amended in 1997.

In particular, the proposed Constitutional reform will address potential institutional weaknesses. The recent crisis has shown some weaknesses in the checks and balances in governance: the reform will take this into consideration. The reform will also focus on strengthening the Orders spiritual life and to increase the number of its Professed members. Consultations have already begun and all members of the Order have been invited to offer their suggestions.

Lieutenant of the Grand Master
According to the Order’s Constitution, the Lieutenant of the Grand Master remains in charge for one year with the same powers as a Grand Master. The Lieutenant of the Grand Master must reconvene the Council Complete of State before the end of his mandate.

The Lieutenant of the Grand Master is the sovereign and religious head of the Order, and must fully dedicate himself to the development of the works of the Order and to set an example of living by Christian principles to its members. He is vested with supreme authorities. Together with the Sovereign Council, he issues the legislative measures not covered by the Constitution, promulgates government acts and ratifies international agreements. The Lieutenant of the Grand Master resides at the Order’s seat of government, the Magistral Palace in Rome.