Rome, February 2015. His Most Eminent Highness Fra’ Andrew Bertie, 78th Prince and Grand Master of the Sovereign Order of Malta and longstanding member of the Constantinian Order has been proposed for canonisation.
Frà Andrew Bertie was first invested by HRH The Duke of Castro into the Sacred Military Constantinian Order of Saint George as a Knight Grand Cross of Justice in 1985. The Prince and Grand Master was later elevated to the rank of Bailiff Grand Cross with Collar in 1988, the highest distinction within the Sacred Military Constantinian Order of St. George. In 1993, HMEH Frà Andrew Bertie, was invested as a Knight of Royal Order of Saint Januarius, the most senior Order of the Royal House of Bourbon Two Sicilies.
The opening session of the diocesan inquiry into the Cause of the Beatification and Canonization of the Servant of God Fra’ Andrew Bertie, 78th Prince and Grand Master of the Sovereign Order of Malta, took place on 20 February 2015 in the Rome Vicariate at St. John Lateran. Cardinal Agostino Vallini, Vicar General of his Holiness for the Diocese of Rome, presided over the solemn act. The hearing was preceded by a Holy Mass celebrated in the Basilica of St. John Lateran by Cardinal Raymond Leo Burke, Cardinalis Patronus of the Sovereign Order of Malta.
This historic event was attended by the 79th Prince and Grand Master of the Sovereign Military Order of Malta, HMEH Fra’ Matthew Festing, accompanied by the Sovereign Council, the relatives of the late Grand Master and the heads of the Order of Malta’s Grand Priories and National Associations from around the world.
Andrew Willoughby Ninian Bertie was the first Englishman to be elected to the post of Grand Master in the Order of Malta’s 900-year history. He was admitted to the Order of Malta when he was only 27 and devoted his life to prayer and charitable works, honouring the task entrusted to him until his death after illness in February 2008. Fra’ Andre Bertie oversaw great changes within the Order of Malta such as the expansion of the humanitarian activities and the reform of the constitutional charter. His legacy also includes a renewed emphasis on the spiritual life of the members of the Order. Furthermore, during his magistery, the Order’s bilateral diplomatic relations rose from 49 to 100.
In office from 1988 to 2008, Grand Master Andrew Bertie’s life was always inspired by principles of faith. His profound spiritual and human virtues, and not least his commitment to practise the Order of Malta’s founding motto “witnessing the faith and assistance to the poor” (Tuitio Fidei, Obsequium Pauperum), meant that in February 2013, only five years after his death (the minimum term envisaged by canon law) the request to initiate the procedure for his Beatification and Canonization was presented. This was a significant anniversary, because in that year the Order of Malta celebrated the 900th anniversary of its official recognition by Pope Paschal II.
The work Fra’ Andrew Bertie performed during his lifetime was for many an example of moral integrity and spiritual inspiration, hence his many faithful followers both in Italy and abroad, and in particular in those countries where the Order of Malta is present with its humanitarian activities.
His Most Eminent Highness was also the holder of many decorations from over 50 countries and dynasties. These included the Collar of the Order of Pius IX from the Holy See, the Collar of the Italian Republic and the Grand Cross of the Legion d’Honneur of France.