Order of Malta

Sovereign Military Hospitaller Order of Saint John of Jerusalem, of Rhodes, and of Malta Sovrano Militare Ordine Ospedaliero di San Giovanni di Gerusalemme di Rodi e di Malta  (Italian) Supremus Ordo Militaris Hospitalis Sancti Ioannis Hierosolymitani Rhodius et Melitensis  (Latin)
Flag Coat of arms
Motto: "Tuitio Fidei et Obsequium Pauperum" (Latin) "Defence of the faith and assistance to the poor"
Anthem: Ave Crux Alba  (Latin) Hail, thou White Cross
Capital	Palazzo Malta Via dei Condotti 68 Rome, Italy
Official languages	Italian
Government
• Prince Grand Master	sede vacante Lieutenant ad Interim Ludwig Hoffmann von Rumerstein
• Grand Commandera	Ludwig Hoffmann von Rumerstein
• Grand Chancellor	Albrecht Freiherr von Boeselager
• Grand Hospitaller	Dominique de La Rochefoucauld-Montbel
Sovereign subject of international law
• Establishment of the Knights Hospitaller, Kingdom of Jerusalem	Ca 1099 by Blessed Gerard
• Papal recognition of sovereignty	1113 by Pope Paschal II
• Cyprus	1291–1310
• Rhodes	1310–1523
• Malta	1530–1798
• Exile to Rome	1834–
Population
• Estimate	3 citizens 13,000 members 80,000 volunteers
Currency	Maltese scudob
Website orderofmalta.int
"Lieutenant ad interim". Euro for postage stamps.

The Sovereign Military Hospitaller Order of Saint John of Jerusalem of Rhodes and of Malta (Latin: Supremus Ordo Militaris Hospitalis Sancti Ioannis Hierosolymitani Rhodius et Melitensis), also known as the Sovereign Military Order of Malta (SMOM) or Order of Malta, is a Roman Catholic lay religious order traditionally of military, chivalrous and noble nature. It was founded as the Knights Hospitaller circa 1099 in Jerusalem, Kingdom of Jerusalem, by the Blessed Gerard, making it the world's oldest surviving chivalric order. Headquartered in Palazzo Malta in Rome, widely considered a sovereign subject of international law, its mission is summed up in its motto: Tuitio fidei et obsequium pauperum, "Defence of the (Catholic) faith and assistance to the poor".

The Sovereign Military Order of Malta is the present-day continuation of the medieval Knights Hospitaller, now based in Rome, with origins in the Fraternitas Hospitalaria hospital founded circa 1048 by merchants from the Duchy of Amalfi in the Muristan district of Jerusalem, Fatimid Caliphate, to provide medical care for pilgrims to the Holy Land. Following the conquest of Jerusalem in 1099 during the First Crusade and the loss of the Kingdom of Jerusalem to the Mamluk Sultanate, it became a military order to protect Christians against Islamic persecution and was recognised as sovereign in 1113 by Pope Paschal II. It operated from Cyprus (1291–1310), Rhodes (1310–1523), Malta (1530–1798), over which it was sovereign until the French occupation, and from Palazzo Malta in Rome from 1834 until the present, subsequently known under its current name. The order venerates as its patroness Mary, mother of Jesus, under the title "Our Lady of Mount Philermos".