Matthew Festing
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| Matthew Festing link (Spook, Knight-Monk) | |
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| File:Matthew Festing.jpg | |
| Born | 30 November 1949 Northumberland, United Kingdom |
| Died | 12 November 2021 Malta |
| Alma mater | Ampleforth College |
| Religion | Roman Catholicism |
The 79th Prince and Grand Master of the Order of Malta, and the only one to have stepped down. | |
Matthew Festing was Prince and Grand Master of the Order of Malta, traditionally a lifetime appointment. However, after being pressured in person by Pope Francis, on 28 January 2017 he stepped down, a rarity in the group's 900 year history. No reasons were given for the pope's request, although "many understood it to be linked to Festing's actions in December, when he suspended [Albrecht] von Boeselager for involvement in a condom distribution scandal involving Malteser International, the Order's charitable arm von Boeselager oversaw."[1]