ROME
National Catholic Reporter
Joshua J. McElwee | Jan. 25, 2017
ROME The showdown between the Vatican and the Knights of Malta has come to a brusque end, with the leader of the historic sovereign order resigning at the apparent request of Pope Francis.
In a statement Wednesday, the Vatican said the pontiff would also be taking over control of the order with the appointment of a new papal delegate in the coming days.
News of Grand Master Matthew Festing’s resignation was first reported late Tuesday evening by the Reuters news agency, which said Francis had asked for Festing’s resignation in a meeting at the Vatican earlier that day.
The resignation caps an unusually tense month for the prestigious Catholic lay order, which had been openly resisting a Vatican investigation into Festing’s firing of one of their top officials. At times it seemed that one of Catholicism’s most storied organizations was challenging the authority and power of the pope.
Festing’s resignation appeared to surprise the order’s headquarters, which was unable to answer questions about the leader’s status with the group until mid-Wednesday morning. The order’s website was down throughout the morning, with visitors receiving a message that the server hosting the site was overloaded.
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