Andrew Bertie

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78. Grand Master
Gianfranco-De-Meo Gran-Maestro-Fra-Andrew-Bertie g.jpg
Andrew Bertie
SMOM 78. GM coat of arms.jpg
Grand Master Crest of Andrew Bertie

Andrew Willoughby Ninian Bertie (born May 15, 1929 in London , † February 7, 2008 in Rome ) was the 78th Grand Master of the Order of Malta from April 8, 1988 until his death  .

His full title was "His Highness and Eminence, Fra ′ Andrew Bertie, Prince and Grand Master of the Sovereign Knights and Hospitallers of St. John of Jerusalem of Rhodes and Malta".

family

Bertie came from the English-Scottish nobility. His grandfather was Montagu Arthur Bertie, 7th Earl of Abingdon (1836–1928). Bertie's father James Willoughby (1901-1966) took part in both World Wars as an officer in the Royal Navy , his mother was Lady Jean Crichton-Stuart (1908-1995), the youngest daughter of the 4th Marquess of Bute .

Early years

Bertie completed school and studies at Ampleforth College of the Benedictines in York and at Christ Church College in Oxford , where he received his doctorate in "Modern History" . Further studies in African and Oriental studies took him to the University of London . He did his military service with the Scots Guards from 1948 to 1950, from 1949 as an officer . He first worked as a business journalist and then for 23 years as a teacher of modern languages (mainly French and Spanish ) at the Worth School, the Lyceum of the Benedictines in Sussex ; Bertie mastered u. a. five languages ​​and had a black belt in judo .

Religious life

In 1956 he was accepted into the Sovereign Order of Malta and made perpetual vows in 1981 . He became a professed knight and monk in the sense of canon law. In the same year he was elected to the Sovereign Council of the Order ("Order Government"). Finally, on April 8, 1988, he was the first Briton in the history of the Order of Malta to be its Grand Master.

As a Grand Master, Bertie mainly expanded the Order's humanitarian projects and continued the modernization of the Order's internal structures , which his predecessor Angelo de Mojana di Cologna had begun. During his tenure, the number of states with which the Order has diplomatic relations doubled from 49 to 100. The number of Order members also increased.

Beatification process

On February 20, 2015, the process for the beatification of Andrew Bertie was officially opened in a service in the Lateran Basilica in Rome .

honors and awards

Bertie was also an honorary citizen of Rapallo (1992), Veroli (1993), Lourdes (1999), Magione (2002), Vittoriosa (2003) and Santa Severina (2003). In 2002 he was appointed Huesped Ilustre ( La Paz , El Alto and Santa Cruz ) in Bolivia . He received the Path to Peace Prize (2005) and the Matteo Ricci Prize (2006).

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ^ Britta Dörre: Opening of the beatification process of Fra 'Andrew Bertie. Zenit , February 23, 2015, accessed February 13, 2017 .
  2. ↑ https://web.archive.org/web/20081120183430/http://www.orderofmalta.org/site/notizia.asp?idlingua=2&IDNotizia=350&anno=2006
  3. ↑ List of all decorations awarded by the Federal President for services to the Republic of Austria from 1952 (PDF; 6.9 MB)
  4. ↑ AAS 91 (1999), n.10, p. 1014.
predecessor Office successor
Angelo de Mojana di Cologna Grand Master of the Order of Malta
1988–2008 		Matthew Festing
personal data
SURNAME Bertie, Andrew
ALTERNATIVE NAMES Bertie, Andrew Willoughby Ninian
BRIEF DESCRIPTION British nobleman, Grand Master of the Order of Malta
DATE OF BIRTH May 15, 1929
PLACE OF BIRTH London
DATE OF DEATH February 7, 2008
Place of death Rome