The Order of Malta at a Glance

Key Figures

13,500

100,000

60,000

49 National Associations

6 Grand Priories

4 Sub-Priories

1 Worldwide relief agency

47 Relief Corps

131 Diplomatic Missions and Representations

across five continents

DIPLOMATIC RELATIONS

OFFICIAL RELATIONS

HUMANITARIAN ACTIVITIES

11th century

Italian merchants from Amalfi found a hospital in Jerusalem

1113

Bull by Pope Paschal II – the hospital becomes a religious order

1291

After the fall of Acre, the Order relocates to Limassol, Cyprus

1310

After 20 years in Cyprus, the Hospitallers of the Order of Saint John move to Rhodes

1523

The Great Siege of Rhodes – the Hospitallers are forced to abandon the island

1530

Emperor Charles V cedes the island of Malta to the Hospitallers

1565

The Order, led by Grand Master Jean de la Valette, defeats the Ottoman army in the Great Siege of Malta

1571

The Order's fleet contributes to the victory over the Ottomans during the Battle of Lepanto

1798

Napoleon occupies the island during the Egyptian Campaign, forcing the Order to abandon Malta

1798–1801

Czar Paul I becomes Grand Master

1834

The government of the Order of Malta settles in Rome

20th–21st centuries

Extensive humanitarian aid during World Wars and modern conflicts