ROME
Yahoo! News
AFP
A 72-year-old Italian medieval art expert was on Saturday elected to head the Order of Malta, the world’s oldest chivalric order.
Giacomo Dalla Torre del Tempio di Sanguinetto takes the reins for one year after Pope Francis ordered the resignation in January of the Order’s Grand Master, Britain’s Matthew Festing, following a power struggle.
A centuries-old lay religious mission, the order provides humanitarian aid in crisis zones around the world.
It comprises 13,500 members ranked by their noble titles and who are expected to lead an exemplary Christian life while participating in the Order’s charity activities.
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