Matthew Festing
Matthew Festing | |||||
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Prince and Grand Master of the Sovereign Military Order of Malta | |||||
Reign | 11 March 2008 – 28 January 2017 | ||||
Predecessor | Giacomo dalla Torre (Acting) | ||||
Successor | Ludwig von Rumerstein (Acting) | ||||
Grand Commanders | |||||
Born | Northumberland, England | 30 November 1949||||
Died | 12 November 2021 Valletta, Malta | (aged 71)||||
Burial | 3 December 2021 | ||||
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Father | Sir Francis Festing | ||||
Mother | Mary Cecilia Riddell | ||||
Religion | Roman Catholicism |
Family
Festing was the youngest of four sons born to
Education and career
Festing attended
Festing was appointed a
Order of Malta
Festing was admitted to the Sovereign Military Order of Malta in 1977. In 1991, he took perpetual vows, becoming a Knight of Justice. From 1993 to 2008, he served as Grand Prior of England, the first in this office since 1815.
On 11 March 2008, Festing was elected Grand Master following a
Resignation
Festing and the Holy See had been in dispute since December 2016, when Festing had dismissed the Order's Grand Chancellor,
Boeselager appealed to Pope Francis, who appointed a five-member commission to look into perceived judicial irregularities in the circumstances of the dismissal. Festing refused to cooperate, describing the commission as an illegitimate intervention in the Order's sovereign affairs, accusing its members of a conflict of interest, and setting up his own internal commission. The Vatican, in turn, rejected what it said was an attempt to discredit members of the commission and ordered the leaders of the institution to cooperate with the inquiry.[6]
In January 2017, Pope Francis asked Festing to resign, with the latter submitting his resignation on January 24.
In April 2017, Archbishop Giovanni Angelo Becciu, the temporary papal delegate to the Order, instructed Festing not to travel to Rome for the election of his successor. He wrote that many of the Order had "expressed their wish" that Festing not travel to Rome for the election as they felt his presence would "reopen wounds" and prevent a return to harmony.[10] As it appeared that Festing ignored this order and arrived in Rome just before the meeting to elect a new Grand Master, the Vatican reconsidered and annulled the order. According to sources within the Order, this was because his absence as a professed knight could have invalidated the ballot.[4]
Death
Festing suddenly collapsed after attending the profession of vows of Fra'
Ancestry
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Chivalric orders
- Sovereign Military Order of Malta:
- Order of the British Empire (Officer) (OBE) (12 June 1998)
- Venerable Order of Saint John (Gr I - Bailiff/Dame Grand Cross) (GCStJ) (5 May 2009)[12]
- Territorial Decoration (TD) (1991)
- Collar of the Order of the Star of Romania (6 September 2008)
- Commander Grand Cross of the Order of the Three Stars (14 October 2008)
- Knight Grand Cross with Collar Order of Merit of the Italian Republic (27 October 2008)
- Order of Merit of the Republic of Hungary (6 February 2009)[13]
- Order of St. Charles (14 October 2009)[14]
- Grand Collar of the Military Order of Saint James of the Sword (23 November 2010)
- Grand Star of the Decoration of Honour for Services to the Republic of Austria (2012)[15]
- Member of the Grand Order of King Tomislav (12 October 2008)
- Sacred Military Constantinian Order of Saint George (Franco-Neapolitan branch):[16][17]
- Bailiff Grand Cross of Justice with the Collar (2010)
- Knight Grand Cross of Justice (1994)
- Knight of Justice (1991)
- Order of St Januarius (2010)[16]
- House of Romanov:
- Knight of the Order of St. Andrew (2014)[18]
- Order of St. Alexander Nevsky (2014) [18]
- Knight of the Order of the White Eagle (2014)[18]
- Order of St. Anna (2014)[18]
- Order of St. Stanislaus (2014)[18]
- Knight Grand Cross of Justice of the Holy Military Order of St. Stephen Pope and Martyr[19]
- Grand Collar of the Order of Sikatuna, Rank of Raja (3 March 2015) [20]
- Grand Collar Of the Order of Makarios III (25 October 2012)
- Knight of the Collar of the Order of Isabella the Catholic (31 July 2015)[21]
National honours
- National Flag Order (Albania) (2015)
Crown appointment of the United Kingdom
- County of Northumberland
Honorary citizenship
Honorary academic degrees
Country | Date | School | Degree |
---|---|---|---|
United States of America | 10 October 2009 | Catholic University of America | Doctor of Humane Letters (DHL) [23] |
Italy | 12 May 2014 | John Cabot University | Doctor of Public Service [24] |
United Kingdom | — | Northumbria University | [25] |
References
- ^ a b c d e f Owen, Richard (11 March 2008). "Knights of Malta elect Englishman as new leader". The Times. Archived from the original on 12 May 2008. Retrieved 11 March 2008. (Archived: 12 May 2008)
- ^ "No. 45465". The London Gazette (Supplement). 6 September 1971. p. 9657.
- ^ "No. 53845". The London Gazette. 10 November 1994. p. 15750.
- ^ a b c "Vatican Reverses Decision, Allows Festing to Take Part in Order of Malta Election". Ncregsiter.com. Retrieved 20 November 2017.
- ^ "New revelations as Knights of Malta square up to choose new leader".
- ^ Pullella, Philip (23 June 2016). "Knights of Malta head resigns after dispute with Vatican". Reuters. Retrieved 25 January 2017.
- ^ "Fra' Matthew Festing convenes a Sovereign Council to formalise his resignation from the office of Grand Master - Order of Malta". Orderofmalta.int. 25 January 2017. Archived from the original on 28 January 2017. Retrieved 20 November 2017.
- ^ "The Grand Master Fra’ Matthew Festing resigns from office Archived 27 January 2018 at the Wayback Machine" (Order of Malta, 28 January 2017)
- ^ "The Grand Master Fra' Matthew Festing resigns from office". Orderofmalta.int. 28 January 2017. Archived from the original on 27 January 2018. Retrieved 20 November 2017.
- ^ "Vatican Orders Matthew Festing Not to Travel to Rome for Order of Malta Election". Ncregister.com. Retrieved 20 November 2017.
- ^ "Grand Magistry announces death of the 79th Grand Master Fra' Matthew Festing". Archived from the original on 12 November 2021. Retrieved 12 November 2021.
- ^ "Order of St John". Thegazette.co.uk. 5 May 2009. Retrieved 25 January 2017.
- ^ "Order of Merit of the Republic of Hungary". Magyar Közlöny (17). 2009.
- ^ Nomination by Sovereign Ordonnance Archived 3 March 2016 at the Wayback Machine n°2405 of 14 October 2009 (French)
- ^ "Reply to a parliamentary question about the Decoration of Honour" (PDF) (in German). p. 1923. Retrieved 13 January 2013.
- ^ a b The Constantinian Order and the Sovereign Military Order of Malta - website of the Sacred Military Constantinian Order of Saint George
- ^ Members of the Sacred Military Constantinian Order of Saint George - website of the Sacred Military Constantinian Order of Saint George, Delegation of Great Britain and Ireland
- ^ a b c d e "Новости". Saintanna.ru. Archived from the original on 20 April 2014. Retrieved 23 April 2014.
- ^ "Sacro Militare Ordine di Santo Stefano Papa e Martire". Granducato.org. Retrieved 22 February 2015.
- ^ "Statement of President Aquino during the courtesy call of Fra' Festing of the Order of Malta | Official Gazette of the Republic of the Philippines". Gov.ph. 3 March 2015. Retrieved 25 January 2017.
- ^ "Real Decreto 754/2015, de 31 de julio, por el que se concede el Collar de la Orden de Isabel la Católica a Su Alteza Eminentísima Frey Matthew Festing, Príncipe y Gran Maestre de la Soberana Orden Militar de Malta". Boletin Oficial del Estado. Retrieved 26 December 2015.
- ^ "The Grand Master honorary citizen of Rapallo - Order of Malta". Orderofmalta.int. 18 September 2008. Archived from the original on 21 February 2016. Retrieved 20 November 2017.
- ^ "Honorary Degrees Conferred by The Catholic University of America" (PDF). Commencement.cua.edu. Retrieved 25 January 2017.
- ^ "Honorary Degree for Fra' Matthew Festing - Order of Malta". Orderofmalta.int. 13 May 2014. Archived from the original on 1 December 2017. Retrieved 20 November 2017.
- ^ "Grand Master - Order of Malta". Orderofmalta.int. Retrieved 20 November 2017.
Sources
- Hannah Roberts, "Matthew Festing, Grand Master of the Knights of Malta", Financial Times, 22 June 2016
- Constantin Magnis: Gefallene Ritter. Malteserorden und Vatikan - Der Machtkampf zwischen zwei der ältesten Institutionen der Welt. HarperCollins 2020. ISBN 978-3-95967-368-6.