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Origin and Nature of the Ord e r

P a r. 1 — The Sovereign Military and Hospitaller Order of Saint John of Jerusalem, of Rhodes,
and of Malta, arose from a group of hospitallers of the Hospice of Saint John of
J e rusalem who had been called upon by circumstances to augment their original
charitable enterprise with military service for the defence of pilgrims to the Holy
Land and of Christian civilization in the East. It is a lay religious Ord e r, by tradition
military, chivalrous and nobiliary, which in time became sovereign on the islands
of Rhodes and later of Malta.

P a r. 2 — In nations where it exercises its activity in virtue of its rights or of intern ational
conventions, the Ord e r’s stru c t u re comprises: Grand Priories, Priories, Subpriories
and National Associations.

P a r. 3 — In this Constitution and in the Code the Sovereign Military Order of Malta is
also re f e rred to as “the Order of Malta” or simply as “the Order”.
P a r. 4 — In the rules which follow, the Grand Priories and the National Associations are
also re f e rred to as Priories and Associations. The term Code refers to the Code
of the Ord e r.

ART I C L E 2
P u r p o s e

P a r. 1 — The purpose of the Order is the promotion of the glory of God through the sanctification
of its members, service to the faith and to the Holy Father, and assistance
to one’s neighbour, in accordance with its ancient traditions.

P a r. 2 — True to the divine precepts and to the admonitions of our Lord Jesus Christ,
guided by the teachings of the Church, the Order aff i rms and propagates the
Christian virtues of charity and bro t h e rhood. The Order carries out its charitable
works for the sick, the needy and refugees without distinction of re l i g i o n ,
race, origin and age.
The Order fulfils its institutional tasks especially by carrying out hospitaller
works, including social and health assistance, as well as aiding victims of exceptional
disasters and of war, attending also to their spiritual well-being and the
s t rengthening of their faith in God.

P a r. 3 — In order to be able to perf o rm their institutional tasks, the Priories and Associations
may, according to the regulations of the Code, establish dependent org a nizations
in accordance with national laws and international conventions and
a g reements made with States.