Name Andrew Bertie | Parents James Willoughby Bertie | |
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Reign 11 April 1988 – 7 February 2008 Predecessor Fra' Angelo de Mojana, 77th Prince and Grand Master House Sovereign Military Hospitaller Order of St. John of Jerusalem, of Rhodes and of Malta (SMOM) Father Lt. Cdr. Hon. James Bertie Died February 7, 2008, Rome, Italy Cousins Richard Henry Rupert Bertie, 14th Earl of Lindsey, Montagu Towneley-Bertie, 13th Earl of Lindsey Grandparents Montagu Bertie, 7th Earl of Abingdon Uncles Montagu Charles Towneley-Bertie, Lord Norreys, Arthur Michael Bertie Great-grandparents | ||
Vaticano andrew bertie s canonization opened in rome
Fra' Andrew Willoughby Ninian Bertie (15 May 1929 – 7 February 2008) was the 78th Prince and Grand Master of the Sovereign Military Order of Malta, serving for nearly 20 years from 1988 until his death in 2008. Bertie was the second Englishman elected Grand Master since 1258.
Contents
- Vaticano andrew bertie s canonization opened in rome
- Knights of faith and poverty
- Early career
- 78th Grand Master the Order of Malta
- Personal life
- Titles and style
- Honours
- Awards
- Honorary citizenships
- Honorary degrees
- References
He never married and had a younger brother. He was the fifth cousin once removed of Queen Elizabeth II.
On 14 August 2012, The Times of Malta reported that "The process for the beatification of the late Grand Master and Prince Fra' Andrew Willoughby Ninian Bertie is to begin in the coming months".
Knights of faith and poverty
Early career
Bertie was born in London, the son of the Hon. James Bertie (son of the 7th Earl of Abingdon) and Lady Jean Crichton-Stuart (daughter of John Crichton-Stuart, 4th Marquess of Bute). He was educated at the English Roman Catholic public school, Ampleforth College, and graduated in Modern History from Christ Church, Oxford. He also attended the School of Oriental and African Studies of the University of London. From 1948 to 1950 he carried out military service in the Scots Guards, becoming a commissioned officer in 1949. After a short experience in the commercial sector, he taught modern languages (particularly French and Spanish but also German, Dutch, Tibetan and Maltese) for twenty-three years at Worth School, a Benedictine public school in Sussex, England. He was a judo black belt and taught judo at Worth.
78th Grand Master, the Order of Malta
Bertie was admitted to the Sovereign Military Order of Malta (SMOM) in 1956. He became a Knight of Justice in the order by taking Perpetual Vows in 1981 (the equivalent of a monk).
He also joined the government of the Order in 1981 as a member of the Sovereign Council and in April 1988 he was elected the 78th Grand Master. Subsequently, he was Hospitaller of the Sanctuary of Lourdes, which is the annual pilgrimage site of SMOM. He succeeded the late Fra' Angelo de Mojana, the Milanese nobleman who had served the Order as Grand Master since 1962 and accomplished a great deal of modernization to the organization. Although it is considered sovereign, the Order of Malta is also a religious order of the Roman Catholic Church, so Bertie's election needed the ratification of Pope John Paul II, which was obtained on 11 April 1988.
Bertie described the aims of the Order as “to help the poor and the sick; that is and always has been our primary aim”:
Personal life
Bertie never married or had children. He died in Rome from cancer on 7 February 2008, aged 78.
Titles and style
His full title was: His Most Eminent Highness Fra' Andrew Willoughby Ninian Bertie, Prince and Grand Master of the Sovereign Military Hospitaller Order of St. John of Jerusalem, of Rhodes and of Malta, Most Humble Guardian of the Poor of Jesus Christ.