On the occasion of the Solemnity of St. John the Baptist, the Holy Father Leo XIV addressed a profound and encouraging message to the members of the Sovereign Military Order of Malta, highlighting their irreplaceable role in the Church as custodians of the faith and servants of those most in need.

In his letter, the Pope expresses his gratitude for the charitable work the Order carries out in so many corners of the world, especially where there is the greatest need for love and comfort. He acknowledges the process of renewal begun in recent years, encouraging us to continue “in this direction” with fidelity to the Gospel and in collaboration with the Cardinal Patron.

The Pontiff proposes the figure of Saint John the Baptist as a model of evangelical radicalism, highlighting his interior conversion and his witness to the point of martyrdom. In the image of the Precursor, members of the Order are called to live an active faith, proclaiming Christ not only through works of mercy, but also through a profound interior life that gives meaning to their mission.

Leo XIV recalls the founding charism of the Order, summarized in two inseparable pillars:  the defense of the faith (tuitio fidei)  and  service to the poor (obsequium pauperum) . Without this link between charity and evangelization, the Pope warns, the Order risks becoming a mere philanthropic organization, losing its religious nature.

The message also offers a serious reflection on the use of media, warning against the temptation of worldliness and resorting to resources that are seemingly useful but contrary to God’s will. Just as Jesus rejected worldly power during his temptation in the desert, so the Order must constantly discern whether its decisions respond to the Holy Spirit or to human interests.

A central point of the message is the call to  authentic spiritual conversion , especially for members of the First Ceto, whose lives must be marked by the evangelical radicalism proper to a religious institute. This conversion cannot be limited to legal reforms, but must reach the heart, sustained by grace and expressed in service to the weakest.

The Pope welcomes with hope the rebirth of community life and the beginning of residential novitiates, which have been absent for decades. He underscores the importance of  spiritual and human formation  for all members of the Order, insisting on the need for trained formators and a life of profound prayer that nourishes a charitable commitment.

Concluding his message, Leo XIV encourages the professed who wish to begin an experience of common life, assuring them of his closeness and encouragement. For the Pope, this desire is a sign of the Spirit, who continues to renew the Order of Malta from within.

Thus, on this solemn day, the Successor of Peter reminds the Knights and Dames of the Order that their strength lies not in titles or privileges, but in their fidelity to Christ, their love for the poor, and an evangelical spirituality capable of transforming the world through humble service.

MESSAGE OF THE HOLY FATHER LEO XIV

TO THE MEMBERS OF THE SOVEREIGN MILITARY ORDER OF MALTA ON THE OCCASION OF THE CELEBRATION OF THE SOLEMNITY OF SAINT JOHN THE BAPTIST

I am particularly pleased to address this message to you on the occasion of the celebration of the solemnity of Saint John the Baptist, Patron of your religious Order, which bears his name.

The Church thanks you for all the good you do wherever there is need for love, in sometimes very difficult situations. She also thanks you for the commitment to renewal you have been carrying out for several years, for greater fidelity to the Gospel, in close and cordial collaboration with the Cardinal Patron, whom I have confirmed in his office. Continue in this direction!

We can say that Saint John the Baptist, even before his birth, fulfilled the mission he had received from God to be the herald of Jesus. He did so with radical austerity throughout his life. His idea of ​​the Messiah, at first, was still too closely tied to that of a severe judge (cf. Mt 3:7-12). Jesus helped him change his perspective and convert, especially when he appeared before him asking to be baptized, humbly mingled among so many penitents (cf. Mt 3:13-17). After this revelation, John indicated Jesus as the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world (cf. Jn 1:29, 36). Following his invitation, two of his disciples became disciples of Jesus (cf. Jn 1:37). And John the Baptist, giving his life in defense of the truth, became a witness to Jesus, who is the Truth.

Saint John the Baptist, your heavenly Patron, must illuminate your life and the mission you are called to fulfill in the Church through the action of the Holy Spirit.

Your Order’s purpose is the  tuitio fidei  and the  obsequium pauperum . Two aspects of the same charism: faith that spreads and is protected through loving dedication to the poor, the marginalized, and all those who need support and help from others. It is not only a matter of meeting the material needs of the poor, but of proclaiming God’s love to them through words and witness. If this were lacking, the Order would lose its religious character and be reduced to an organization with philanthropic purposes.

The love that each of us must offer to others is one that places itself on the level of the person receiving it, just as Jesus did, who placed himself on our level, in solidarity with the despised, with those whose lives are taken because they are considered worthless (cf. Luke 10:29-37). This is why Jesus can receive a response of love from us, because in his abasement he communicates his love to us, which we can return with gratitude. Thus it is with the poor: if we love them by placing ourselves on their level, the love we communicate to them returns to us in their gratitude, not of humiliation, but of joy.

This is the  tuitio fidei , because by acting in this way they concretely transmit faith in God’s love, offering the experience of his closeness.

To protect and preserve the faith, the Apostle Paul tells us how to equip ourselves: put on the armor of God to resist the wiles of the devil; gird yourself with the truth; put on the breastplate of righteousness; take up the shield of faith, with which to extinguish the flaming darts of the Evil One; put on the helmet of salvation and the sword of the Spirit, which is the Word of God (cf. Eph 6:11-18).

Certainly, for so many laudable works of good that your Order carries out in various parts of the world, many means, including economic ones, and various mediations are required. But it is always necessary to remember that the means must be considered as such, functional to achieving the goal.

However, to achieve a good end, the means must be good. In this area, temptation can easily present itself under the guise of good, as an illusion of being able to achieve good ends through means that might prove to be inconsistent with God’s will. Jesus, too, was tempted in this regard when the evil one “showed him all the kingdoms of the world and their glory” (Mt 4:8) and promised to give them to him if he worshipped him. But then Jesus would no longer have been the suffering Servant of God, who in humility strips himself of all worldly power to win, with love, the love of man. Even in this particularly insidious temptation, Jesus reaffirms the supremacy of God and does not sell himself to the power of this world. Had he yielded to temptation, Jesus would have adopted illicit means and would not have achieved the end established by the Father for his mission. The Order of Malta, throughout history, has adopted, depending on the circumstances, different means, which must be evaluated in their current validity to achieve the goal of  tuitio fidei  and  obsequium pauperum .

Over the centuries, the Order has assumed a growing relevance in the international arena, a very particular kind of sovereignty, with prerogatives in this sphere that must necessarily be at the service of the purpose of  tuitio fidei  and  obsequium pauperum . If these prerogatives were to be used by you, allowing yourselves to be attracted by worldliness, perhaps without realizing it, precisely because of the illusion that worldliness entails, you would run the risk of acting without sight of the objective. We must continually make our own what Jesus taught: that he did not ask the Father to take us out of the world, because he sends us into the world, but that we are not of the world as he is not of the world; and that he asked the Father to protect us from the evil one (cf. Jn 17:14-16, 18).

The Spirit helps us discover the deceptions of the evil one, so we are called to continually discern whether it is the Spirit who guides us or the evil one, or even our own interests.

They are committed to a path of renewal. This renewal cannot be simply institutional or normative: it must be, above all, internal and spiritual, because this gives meaning to the normative changes. They have renewed their own law, the Constitutional Charter, and the Melitense Code. This was necessary, as several things needed to be clarified, especially the nature of the religious Order, granted and guaranteed by the members of the First Ceto, but whose charismatic force is also shared, with varying degrees, by the Second and Third Ceto.

They have also completed the “Commentary” on both normative texts. This is a very useful work to facilitate not only the literal understanding of the norms, but also that of their spiritual and theological foundation, of primary importance for a correct interpretation and application in the Spirit. Certainly, the journey of renewal is not over; indeed, it is always in its infancy, because it demands the conversion of heart, a lifelong task for each of us. We know how arduous the conversion of heart is. The members of the First Keto especially are called to commit themselves in this direction, to overcome every temptation to secularization, that is, to a life not animated by that evangelical radicalism that is proper to a religious Order. If the First Keto does not undertake this journey of conversion, which, although difficult and demanding, is sustained by the grace of the Spirit of the Risen One, one cannot expect the Second and Third Keto to fulfill it, according to their condition.

Conversion, however, is always encouraged by a significant experience that touches our hearts. Your action on behalf of the Sick, as you like to say, and of the poor in every condition, meritorious before God and men, is what sustains your conversion. Charitable and apostolic action is the fruit and manifestation of a spirituality that has been transmitted to you from the beginning by Blessed Gerard and that you are called to embody in today’s world with a growing evangelical authenticity, the fruit of continual purification.

With great joy, I learned that there are aspirants who have requested to begin the experience of the novitiate, and of a residential novitiate, which constitutes a novelty after so long a period of dissolution of community life. This is a cause of great hope, but also a challenge for the entire Order and, above all, for the formators. Formation is a fundamental aspect for all institutes of consecrated life, and is particularly demanding due to the complexity of the candidates’ life trajectories in the present time. This requires more than ever specific formation of formators, without which the formative work would remain approximate and ineffective, as would be the case if its itinerary and content were not well outlined. Formation concerns not only the First Cetus, but, in different ways, also the Second and Third Cetus. This formation must have as its fundamental objective prayer: liturgical and personal, nourished by solitude and silence, necessary dimensions the more one dedicates oneself to the activity of service to one’s neighbor, so that this may be a witness to the love of God made present.

It is also a source of great hope that some professed members wish to begin an experience of community life. I heartily encourage this desire…