Dear Confreres and Sisters,

Dear Brothers and Sisters.

With deep sadness I join His Eminence the Cardinal Camerlengo, who will be at the helm of the barque of St. Peter until the election of the new Pontiff, in announcing the passing of His Holiness Pope Francis, who the Lord has called to himself after long years of tireless service to the Church and to all humanity.   His witness of faith, his dedication to the weakest, his unceasing appeal for mercy and peace have profoundly marked our era and will continue to illuminate the path of the Church.

At this moment of deep mourning and fervent prayer, I invite the entire Family of the Order of Malta, Knights, Dames, Chaplains, Volunteers and Members of our health and assistance staff, to unite spiritually in suffrage of the Holy Father, entrusting him to the mercy of God. I ask you to offer Holy Mass so that the Lord can lovingly receive his blessed soul and to intensify our mission of charity at the service of our Lords the Poor and the Sick as a tangible sign of fidelity to the teachings that Pope Francis has given us given and left us.

The Order of Malta has always received the support and closeness of the Holy Father in its service to the sick and most vulnerable.   Today more than ever it is our duty to give thanks for his Pontificate and to pray that the Lord will grant him the reward promised to faithful servants.

I ask you all to participate with devotion in the liturgical celebrations that will be organized in his memory and to join us in shared prayer, mindful that his example will continue to inspire us in our mission of Tuitio Fidei et Obsequium Pauperum.

We entrust the Holy Father’s soul to the Virgin Mary, Mother of the Church, and with a grateful heart we pray: Requiem aeternam dona ei, Domine, et lux perpetua luceat ei.

In union of prayer, may the Lord bless you

Fra’ John T. Dunlap, Grand Master of the Sovereign Military Order of Malta