900 Years of History

The Order of Malta is a worldwide, lay, religious order of the Roman Catholic Church, which seeks to glorify God by promoting the sanctification of each member through his or her work with the sick and the poor and witness of the Catholic faith. The Order carries out its charitable works for the sick, the needy and refugees without distinction of religion, race, origin and age.

The birth of the Sovereign Military Hospitaller Order of Malta® dates back to around 1048. Merchants from the ancient Marine Republic of Amalfi obtained from the Caliph of Egypt the authorization to build a church, convent and hospital in Jerusalem, to care for pilgrims of any religious faith or race. The Order of St. John of Jerusalem® also called the Hospitallers of St. John of Jerusalem® the monastic community that ran the hospital for the pilgrims in the Holy Land.

The constitution of the Kingdom of Jerusalem regarding the crusades obliged the Order to take on the military defense of the sick, the pilgrims and the territories that the crusaders had conquered from the Moslems. The Order thus added the task of defending the faith to that of its hospitaller mission.

As time went on, the Order adopted the white eight-pointed Cross that is still its symbol today.

Over the years the Order has also been referred to at the Knights of St. John of Jerusalem, the Knights Hospitaller and the acronym SMOM, shorthand for Sovereign Military Order of Malta. To find out more about the long history of the Order, visit the Order of Malta, American Association website.

Read the Grand Master's defense of the Order of Malta from April 9, 2010.