The Grand Master of the Sovereign Military Hospital Order of St. John of Jerusalem, Rhodes and Malta, John T. Dunlap (Fra’ John Dunlap), will pay an official visit to Greece, on October 18 and 19, at the invitation of its President of Democracy Katerina Sakellaropoulou.

What is Sovereign Military Order of Malta

The Sovereign Military Hospital (Hospital) Order of Saint John of Jerusalem, Rhodes and Malta (Sovereign Military Order of Malta, KSTM) is a sovereign entity, partially recognized as an observer member in the United Nations, as well as an order of the Roman Catholic Church.

The Order currently has 12,500 members and 80,000 permanent volunteers, along with 13,000 medical staff.

All of them work on a daily basis for the care of the elderly, refugees, the needy, the homeless as well as children. Among the people they care for are lepers and those suffering from incurable diseases, all over the world, regardless of race or religion. Also, through the Malteser International Corps, it helps victims of natural disasters, epidemics and armed conflicts internationally.

The official language of its members is Italian, and it has two offices in Rome.

The Order has no recognized area except some properties.

But it has a flag and a national anthem, “Ave Crux Alba” (Hail White Cross).

Who is Brother John Timothy Dunlap

The Constitutional Governor of the Order is the Grand Master, whose office is for life. As of June 13, 2022, the Grand Master is John T. Dunlap, a lawyer by profession and legal adviser to the Permanent Observer of the Holy See to the United Nations .

Dunlap was inducted as a Knight Master Grace of the Order of Malta in 1996.

He took temporary vows as a Knight of Justice in 2004, and on June 7, 2008, took eternal vows as a Knight of Justice at St. Joseph’s Church in Greenwich Village.

In May 2014 Dunlap was elected to a five-year term as a member of the Sovereign Council.

On June 13, 2022, Pope Francis appointed Dunlap as Deputy Grand Master of the Order.

He was officially elected head of the battalion on 3 May 2023, at which time he assumed office.

The election of John T. Dunlap was made possible by the 2022 revisions to the Order’s constitution ordered by Pope Francis, which removed the traditional requirement that the Grand Master be able to demonstrate noble descent.