Andrew Bertie

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Andrew Willoughby Ninian Bertie (May 15, 1929 - February 7, 2008) was the 78th and first British Grand Master of the Sovereign Military Order of Malta since 1258, serving for nearly 20 years from 1988 until his death in 2008.

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.[1] He never married and had a younger brother. He was the fourth cousin twice removed of Queen Elizabeth II.[2]

His Most Eminent Highness, Fra' Andrew Bertie
Prince and Grand Master of the Sovereign Military Hospitaller Order of St. John of Jerusalem, of Rhodes and of Malta

78th Prince and Grand Master
Reign 11th April 1988 - 7th February 2008
Full name Andrew Willoughby Ninian Bertie
Born 15th May 1929
Died 7th February 2008
Place of death Rome, Italy
Buried Church of Santa Maria del Priorato, Aventine Hill, Rome, Italy
Predecessor Fra' Angelo de Mojana, 77th Prince and Grand Master
Successor Fra' Matthew Festing, 79th Prince and Grand Master
Royal House Sovereign Military Hospitaller Order of St. John of Jerusalem, of Rhodes and of Malta (SMOM)
Royal anthem Ave Crux Alba (Hail, White Cross)
Father Lt. Cdr. Hon. James Bertie, of the Earls of Abingdon
Mother Lady Jean Crichton-Stuart, of the Marquesses of Bute

Contents

[edit] Early career

Fra Andrew was born in London, the son of the Hon. James Bertie (son of the Montagu Arthur Bertie, 7th Earl of Abingdon) and Lady Jean Crichton-Stuart (the daughter of the 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) for twenty-three years at Worth Abbey School, a Benedictine public school in Sussex, England.

[edit] 78th Grand Master, the Order of Malta

Fra Andrew was admitted to the Sovereign Military Order of Malta (SMOM) in 1956; he took Perpetual Vows and in 1981 became a Religious member[clarify]. 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. He was Hospitaller of the Sanctuary of Lourdes[clarify]. 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 Catholic Church, so Bertie's election needed the ratification of Pope John Paul II, which was obtained on 11 April 1988.

Fra Andrew described the aims of the Order as “to help the poor and the sick; that is and always has been our primary aim”:

  • “The other military orders were there to fight the Saracens and to save Spain or the Holy Land or Prussia from the pagans. But we always had this special commitment to the poor and the sick. Our aims today are exactly the same as they were in 1099, the sanctification of our members through service to the sick”.

Fra Andrew Bertie did not marry and had no children. He died in Rome on February 7, 2008.

Flags flying at half-staff over Palazzo di Malta, headquarters of the Sovereign Military Order of Malta, after the death of the Grand Master Andrew Bertie
Flags flying at half-staff over Palazzo di Malta, headquarters of the Sovereign Military Order of Malta, after the death of the Grand Master Andrew Bertie

[edit] References and notes

  1. ^ Ampleforth College obituary
  2. ^ By common descent from King George III and his wife Charlotte Sophia.

[edit] Links

Preceded by
Angelo de Mojana di Cologna		 Grand Master of the Knights Hospitaller
1988-2008		 Succeeded by
Matthew Festing