Benedict XVI remembers 900 years of the Knights of Malta

Pope Benedict XVI on Saturday met with the Sovereign Military Order of Malta, which this year celebrates the ninth centenary of its establishment. The Holy Father noted that the Order of Malta is distinguished by the Christian inspiration that must constantly direct the social engagement of its members. He said be sure to preserve and cultivate this your qualifying characteristic and work with renewed apostolic zeal, maintaining an attitude of profound harmony with the Magisterium of the Church. Your esteemed and beneficial activity, carried out in a variety of fields and in different parts of the world, and particularly focused on care of the sick through hospitals and health-care institutes, is not ...