Diskors mill-President Myriam Spiteri Debono waqt il-festa tal-Patrun tal-Ordni Militari Sovran ta’ San Ġwann ta’ Ġerusalemm, ta’ Rodi u ta’ Malta
Your Excellency
[Salutations]
Excellencies
Distinguished guests,
It is with great pleasure that I am here today for the annual celebration of the feast of St. John the Baptist, the Patron Saint of the Sovereign Military Order of Saint John, of Jerusalem, of Rhodes and of Malta.
Malta and the Order are bound together by the Order’s two hundred- and sixty-eight-year rule of Malta, well before the start of official diplomatic relations between Malta and the Order on 4th May 1966.
One is justified in remarking that the Order’s presence in Malta shaped the island as we know it today. Suffice it to look around us, this very building in which we are meeting today, our capital city itself, Valletta, to recognise the imprint of the Order on the physical aspect of Malta. Hand in hand with this, it is also pertinent to acknowledge the Order’s influence on the historical, cultural and artistic heritage of the islands. The Order’s legacy to Malta is immeasurable. Indeed in 1798, the Malta the Order of St. John left behind was a very different Malta from the Malta of 1530 when they set foot on the island.
The Order originated in the 11th Century as a religious, military organisation, primarily envisaged as the defender of the faith. During its stay in Malta, it proved itself a bulwark of Christendom, but with the passage of time, the Order’s ethos has morphed into an organisation which has shed its military role and is focused on the hospitaller functions for which it was originally set up, notably providing support and assistance to the most vulnerable. The Order has taken on an active role in mitigating the hardships caused by conflicts and poverty around the world, particularly the resultant problem of migration. The Order’s efforts in providing first aid in maritime rescue operations aimed at saving migrant lives in the Mediterranean is highly commendable.
With this renewed emphasis on its hospitaller role, which it started again forging strongly during the last Century the Order builds hospitals in impoverished countries and generally dedicates itself to looking after the sick and the underprivileged.
Malta’s relations with the Order have also primarily been centred on a caring and philanthropic role. The Order organises pilgrimages to Marian shrines for the sick; it also gives assistance to local charities whose mission is to help the disabled and disadvantaged, including migrants, single mothers and their minor children.
Cooperation between the Order and the Government of Malta saw the setting up of the first Blood Bank in Malta. This was in 1971. In 1973, the Blood Bank of the Sovereign Military Order of Malta passed with the funds of the Grand Magistry of Rome. This bank was later amalgamated with the Blood Transfusion Centre of St. Luke’s Hospital.
In 2016, the Order donated a Mobile Clinic to the Agency for the Welfare of Asylum Seekers (AWAS).
In December 1998, the Order and the Government of Malta entered into an agreement whereby part of the historic St. Angelo Fortress was granted to the Order. This agreement resembles more an amicable arrangement rather than a legal instrument in spite of its legality. This agreement provides the Order with a seat from where it can foster and promote its charitable aims and operations, a seat from where it can continue to enhance its reputation as a promoter of human dignity worldwide.
Relations between the Order and Malta are based on shared values and mutual principles. Both uphold the principle that mutual respect, tolerance and dialogue are the tools more adept at solving disputes at international levels, whatever their nature and source. Both Malta and the Order maintain that the resolution of transnational threats to the security of humankind, like the climate change crisis, terrorism, unregulated migration are best tackled, and solutions sought, through amicable discussions based on governance.
Malta is committed to continue fostering in its international relations, its constitutional commitment to the active fostering of peace, and in this, Sovereign Military Order of Saint John, of Jerusalem, of Rhodes and of Malta is indeed a likeminded ally.