Catholic ‘knights’ granted 25-year tenancy of Fort St Elmo hall

A lay order of Catholic ‘knights’ has been granted a 25-year tenancy of one of the halls inside Valletta’s Fort Saint Elmo.

Heritage Malta, the administrator of national heritage sites, signed the agreement for the prime site property that will now serve as the official seat of the Maltese lieutenancy of the Equestrian Order of the Holy Sepulchre of Jerusalem.

The Equestrian Order is the only lay institution of the Vatican State that raises funds fore Latin Patriarchate of Jerusalem and Catholic churches in the Holy Land and Middle East. The pope is the sovereign of the order.

The chivalric order was granted St Elmo’s Enceinte Hall for 25 years, committing itself to help Heritage Malta in promoting the historic fort through the organisation of its formal events, meetings and social activities.

The Maltese lieutenancy has around 100 members who are “knights, dames and ecclesiastics” and its dignitaries are Roberto Buontempo, who serves as Lieutenant, and Archbishop Charles Scicluna

The Order also has the custody of the Santa Marija ta’ Doni church in Rabat for 25 years, following an agreement with the Archdiocese of Malta.

Globally, the Order is a charity that raises funds for the Latin Patriarchate in the Middle East, providing money for its 90 parishes, funding the Seminary, paying school fees for Christian students who attend 45 patriarchal schools, and financing medical supplies for Catholic families.

The Maltese lieutenancy was set up in 1996, even though the Order traces its origins to the First Crusade of 1099. After the sack of crusader-held areas in the Middle East by Islamic forces, the knights lived on in Europe as a religious military Order.