List of grand masters of the Knights Hospitaller

Wikimedia list of persons by position held

This is a list of Grand Masters of the Knights Hospitaller including their replacement Sovereign Military Order of Malta after 1798.

Coat of arms of the Order of Saint John. The personal coat of arms of the Grand Master would be shown next to the order's coat of arms in 14th to 15th centuries. Beginning in the mid-15th century, the Grand Master would quarter the order's coat of arms with his own.

Knights Hospitaller (Kingdom of Jerusalem) change

NrTitlePictureNameTime in officeNotes
—/1Founder and Rector of the Hospital Blessed Gerard1099/1113–1118/20Order established in 1099 and given papal recognition in 1113 by Paschal II
1/2Custos[1] Raymond du Puy1118/21/23–1160
2/3Custos Auger de Balben1160–1163
3/4 Arnaud de Comps1162–1163Historicity uncertain
4/5Custos Gilbert d'Aissailly1163–1169
5/6Gastone de Murolsc. 1169
6/7Custos Jobert of Syriac. 1169/72–1177Acted as regent for king Manuel I in 1172. In 1174 opposed Miles of Plancy in favour of Raymond III of Tripoli. Fought in the crusade of Philip I, Count of Flanders of 1176.
7/8Custos Roger de Moulins1177–1187
8/9Provisor[source?]Armengol de Aspa (Ermengard d'Aps)1187–1190Loss of Jerusalem in 1187, headquarters moved to Acre. In the crisis following the loss of Jerusalem, Ermengard was not elected as custos and acted only ad interim. He was nevertheless included into the canonical list of Grand Masters compiled in the early modern period. After the capture of Acre and the consolidation of the order, Ermengard retired with the regular election of Garnier de Nablus as new master.
9/10Custos Garnier de Nablus1190–1192Battle of Arsuf 1191
10/11Custos Geoffroy de Donjon1193–1202
11/12Custos Afonso de Portugal1202–1206Fourth Crusade, resigned in 1206
12/13Custos Geoffrey le Rat (Gothofredus Mus)1206–1207First structured the order by nationality, or langues.
13/14Custos Guérin de Montaigu1207–1228Fifth Crusade, Siege of Damietta (1218–1219)
14/15Custos Bertrand de Thercy1228–1231Re-conquest of Jerusalem in 1228/9
15/16CustosGuerin Lebrun1231–1236Captured in battle, and died in captivity in Egypt
16/17CustosBertrand de Comps1236–1240Headquarters moved to Jerusalem
17/18Custos Pierre de Vieille-Brioude1240–1242
18/19Custos Guillaume de Chateauneuf1242–1258Fall of Jerusalem in 1244, headquarters at Acre, Krak des Chevaliers and Margat
19/20Custos Hugues de Revel1258–1277
20/21 Nicolas Lorgne1277–1285Loss of Margat 1285
21/22 Jean de Villiers1285–1294Siege of Acre (1291)
22/23Odon de Pins1294–1296Headquarters moved to Limisso, Cyprus
23/24 Guillaume de Villaret1296–1305

Sovereign Military Order of Malta change

No.TitlePictureNameTime in officeNotes
72[2]Grand Master (partial recognition) Paul I of Russia1798–1801Elected by the Priory of St. Petersburg in September 1798 (before the abdication of von Hompesch). This election resulted in the establishment of the Russian tradition of the Knights Hospitaller. On Paul's death in 1801, his son Alexander I of Russia decided to end this irregular situation and refused to be Grand Master. The election of a new Grand Master was deferred to Pope Pius VII.
Nikolai Saltykov1801–1803De facto Lieutenant in Saint Petersburg
73[2]Grand Master
Gran Maestro
Giovanni Battista Tommasi1803–1805Appointed by Pope Pius VII in 1803. Residence in Messina and Catania
Lieutenant
Luogotenente Generale
Innico Maria Guevara-Suardo1805–1814Headquarters in Catania. Loss of territories and Protestant branches.
Lieutenant
Luogotenente Generale
Andrea Di Giovanni y Centellés1814–1821Headquarters in Catania
Lieutenant
Luogotenente Generale
Antoine Busca1821–1834Headquarters in Ferrara. SMOM recognized at the Congress of Verona (1822).
Lieutenant
Luogotenente Generale
Carlo Candida1834–1845Headquarters moved to Palazzo Malta, Rome. Restoration of the grand priories of Lombardy-Venetia and of Sicily in 1839/41.
Lieutenant
Luogotenente Generale
Filippo di Colloredo-Mels1845–1864
Lieutenant
Luogotenente Generale
Alessandro Borgia1865–1871
Lieutenant
Luogotenente Generale
Giovanni Battista Ceschi
a Santa Croce
1871–1879
74[2]Prince and Grand Master
Princeps et Magister Magnus
Giovanni Battista Ceschi
a Santa Croce
1879–1905Restoration of the office of Grand Master after a 75-year interregnum, confirmed by Pope Leo XIII.
75[2]Prince and Grand Master
Princeps et Magister Magnus
Galeas von Thun und
Hohenstein
1905–1931
76[2]Prince and Grand Master
Principe e Gran Maestro
Ludovico Chigi Albani
della Rovere
1931–1951
Lieutenant
Luogotenente Generale
Antonio Hercolani Fava
Simonetti
1951–1955
Lieutenant
Luogotenente Generale
Ernesto Paternò Castello
di Carcaci
1955–1962Carta Costituzionale approved by Apostolic Letter of Pope John XXIII, June 24, 1961.
77[2]Prince and Grand Master
Principe e Gran Maestro
Angelo de Mojana di Cologna1962–1988
Lieutenant ad interim
Luogotenente Interinale
Jean Charles Pallavicini1988
78[2]Prince and Grand Master
Principe e Gran Maestro
Andrew Bertie1988–2008Constitutional Charter and Code revised by the Extraordinary Chapter General 28-30 April 1997.[3][4]
Lieutenant ad interim
Luogotenente Interinale
Giacomo dalla Torre del Tempio di Sanguinetto2008
79[2]Prince and Grand Master
Principe e Gran Maestro
Matthew Festing2008–2017First Grand Master elected under the new constitution of 1997. Resigned in 2017 following a dispute with the Vatican.[5]
Lieutenant ad interim
Luogotenente Interinale
Ludwig Hoffmann-Rumerstein2017
Lieutenant of the Grand Master
Luogotenente di Gran Maestro
Giacomo dalla Torre del Tempio di Sanguinetto2017–2018
80[2]Prince and Grand Master
Principe e Gran Maestro
Giacomo dalla Torre del Tempio di Sanguinetto2018–2020
Lieutenant ad interim
Luogotenente Interinale
Ruy Gonçalo do Valle Peixoto de Villas Boas2020
Lieutenant of the Grand Master
Luogotenente di Gran Maestro
Marco Luzzago2020–2022
Lieutenant ad interim
Luogotenente Interinale
Ruy Gonçalo do Valle Peixoto de Villas Boas2022
Lieutenant ad interim
Luogotenente Interinale
John T. Dunlap2022-2023
81[2]Prince and Grand Master
Principe e Gran Maestro
John T. Dunlap2023–present

References change

  1. The Order's Great Seal, or leaden bulla, remained in use, with some modifications, from the 12th century until 1798.Until 1278, when Nicholas de Lorgne introduced a separate conventual bulla, there was no distinction between the seal of the Grand Master and that of the order. The general design of the seal featured, on the obverse, the Grand Master kneeling in prayer before the patriarchal cross. This image was usually accompanied with the sacred letters alpha and omega, which referenced the Second Coming of Christ. The central image was surrounded by a legend with the Master's name followed by the official designation CVSTOS.Barbara Packard, Seals of the Grand Masters, Museum of the Order of St John, 14 October 2015.
  2. 2.00 2.01 2.02 2.03 2.04 2.05 2.06 2.07 2.08 2.09 Numbering according to the SMOM (website orderofmalta.int as of 2017) implies the recognition of Riccardo Caracciolo as 33rd Grand Master, and of Paul I of Russia as 72nd Grand Master (r. 1798–1801).
  3. Constitutional Charter and Code of the SMOM (1997).
  4. The sovereign status of the SMOM had been in question as the previous constitution had implied dependence on the Holy See (which had itself been recognized as sovereign in 1922). Papal approval of the election of the Grand Master is no longer explicitly required. Bo J. Theutenberg, The Holy See, the Order of Malta and International Law Archived 2015-11-21 at the Wayback Machine (2003), ISBN 91-974235-6-4
  5. Pullella, Philip (23 June 2016). "Knights of Malta head resigns after dispute with Vatican". Reuters. Retrieved 25 January 2017.