The Sovereign Order of Malta has been defending the faith and helping those in need for almost a millennium

The Sovereign Military Hospitaller Order of St John of Jerusalem, of Rhodes and of Malta is one of the most noble and prestigious organisations in the world. For almost a millennium, the Order created in the Holy Land has been putting into practice the mission established by its founder, Blessed Gerard, says the Order’s Ambassador to Romania, His Excellency Roberto Musneci.

The Sovereign Order of Malta has been present in Romania since the Crusades. It was attested by the Diploma of the Knights of Joan, granted on 2 June 1247 by King Bela IV of Hungary. The Order distinguished itself through charitable missions, such as the establishment of the first hospital in this territory, in Oradea, but also through the defence of Christianity.

Official relations between the Sovereign Order of Malta and Romania were established in the modern period, in 1932, during the reign of King Charles II. These relations were suspended during the communist period and resumed in 1991.

Currently, the Order is represented in Romania by three structures. The first is the Embassy of the Sovereign Order of Malta, based in Bucharest. The second structure is the Romanian Association of the Order of Malta, headed by Count Kálnoky Tibor, which brings together the 20 Knights of Malta active in Romania. The third structure is the Order of Malta Relief Service in Romania, which has more than 1,000 volunteers in 18 branches and subsidiaries.

These structures are the only ones that give concrete expression to the presence of the Sovereign Order of Malta in Romania, but there is also the phenomenon of phantom organisations, which claim to be representatives of the Order, but which have no recognition whatsoever from the Order’s government, based in Rome. These phantom organisations are simply associations of individuals who sometimes trade dubiously in false diplomas and titles.