Pontiff welcomes cooperation from new leaders of Knights of Malta (Vatican Press Office)

Pope Francis met on January 30 with new officers of the Sovereign Military Order of Malta, and told them that he was pleased to know that new rules for the ancient Order “have gained the confidence of the great majority.”

After months of heated controversy, and a Vatican bid to assert new control on the Order, the Pope said that the election of a new Grand Master, to rule under the terms of a new constitution, would produce “a sure guide, a guarantor of the unity of the entire Order, in fidelity to the successor of Peter and of the Church.”

Addressing a key issue in the recent disputes, the sovereignty of the Knights of Malta, the Pope said that the Order “is an entirely unique sovereignty, assumed over the course of the centuries and confirmed by the will of the Popes.”