The funeral of Fra’ James-Michael von Stroebel, Grand Cross of Justice, who died on 2 May 2023 at the age of 95, took place on Friday, 18 May, in the Catholic Church of Saint Anne, Washington.

Fra’ John Dunlap, Grand Master of the Order of Malta, attended the mass celebrated by Cardinal Donald Wuerl, in the presence of the family and numerous members, volunteers and friends of Fra’ James-Michael, who during his life made a fundamental contribution to the development of the Order of Malta’s Federal Association. Among those present were Fra’ Thomas Mulligan, President of the Federal Association and Fra’ Nicola Tegoni, Regent of the Subpriory of Our Lady of Lourdes.

Fra’ James-Michael was born on 14 December 1927 in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, and was educated at the Jesuit school. In 1950, at the invitation of Baroness Elisabeth von und zu Guttenberg, he went to Europe to volunteer in one of the Caritas organizations in Munich, Germany.

In 1992 he joined the Sovereign Military Order of Malta. In 1999 he made his solemn vows. From 1993 until 2019 he participated in all the Order of Malta’s major pilgrimages, accompanying the sick to Lourdes. He also joined pilgrimages to Guadalupe, Jerusalem, Malta, Rhodes, Rome and Santiago de Compostela. He was part of the Order’s Commission for the Holy Year Pilgrimage 2000 to Rome. He has written numerous articles and monographs on the Order of Malta.

For some years Fra’ James-Michael lived in the Magistral Palace in Rome, where the then Grand Master Fra’ Andrew Bertie contributed to his formation as a religious of the Order.