The Sovereign Military Hospitaller Order of St. John of Jerusalem, of Rhodes and of Malta, more commonly known as the Order of Malta, is currently in the charge not of a Prince and Grand Master but of a Lieutenant of the Grand Master, elected by the Council Complete of State. He presides over the Sovereign Council of the Order directing the Order’s governance during his tenure in office. This situation is not quite as unusual as it may first appear to be. In the last 100 years there have been five occasions when the Order did not elect a Prince and Grand Master, but was governed by a Lieutenant of the Grand Master. None of them went on to be elected Prince and Grand Master with the exception of Dalla Torre del Tempio di Sanguinetto. Also, I do not take notice here of the four men who served as Lieutenant ad interim after the death of and before the election of a Grand Master.

Fra’ Pio Franchi De’ Cavalieri (1929-1931 during the illness of Grand Master Thun und Hohenstein)

Fra’ Antoine Hercolani Fava Simonetti (1951-1955) *

Fra’ Ernesto Paternò Castello di Carcaci (1955-1962)

Fra’ Giacomo Dalla Torre del Tempio di Sanguinetto (2017-2018)

Fra’ Marco Luzzago who is presently the Lieutenant of the Grand Master elected in 2020.

*NOTE: Hercolani Fava Simonetti served as the Lieutenant to the Grand Magistry and the others had the title Lieutenant of the Grand Master.