Bruno Platter is the 65th and present Grand Master of the Teutonic Order.

Early life

Platter was born in Ritten

Ritten

Ritten is a comune in South Tyrol in the Italian region Trentino-Alto Adige/Südtirol.-Territory:The 111 km² community is named after the high plateau , the Ritten or the Renon, on which most of the villages are located...

 in South Tyrol

South Tyrol

South Tyrol , also known by its Italian name Alto Adige, is an autonomous province in northern Italy. It is one of the two autonomous provinces that make up the autonomous region of Trentino-Alto Adige/Südtirol. The province has an area of and a total population of more than 500,000 inhabitants...

, Italy

Italy

Italy , officially the Italian Republic languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Italy's official name is as follows:;;;;;;;;), is a unitary parliamentary republic in South-Central Europe. To the north it borders France, Switzerland, Austria and...

. He made first profession in the Teutonic Order on 12 September 1964 and final profession on 15 September 1969. On 29 June 1970 he was ordained to the priesthood.

Priory of South Tyrol

Platter was first to the Priory of South Tyrol where he worked in the order's school in Bolzano. In 1973 he received the degree Doctor of Theology from the University of Innsbruck; his dissertation was entitled Die Begründung des Mischehenverbotes: eine theologie- und rechtsgeschichtliche Untersuchung (The Justification for the Prohibition of Mixed Marriages: A Theological and Legal-Historical Study). In 1974 he was named Rector of the Church of St. George in Weggenstein, the order's commandery

Commandry (feudalism)

Commandry , or commandery , was the smallest division of the European landed estate or manor under the control of a commendator, or commander, of an order of knights...

 in Bolzano.

Grand Master

On 26 August 2000 Platter was elected Grand Master

Grand Master (order)

Grand Master is the typical title of the supreme head of various orders of knighthood, including various military orders, religious orders and civil orders such as the Ancient Order of Hibernians and the Orange Order...

 of the Teutonic Order at the general chapter in Lana, South Tyrol. On 29 October 2000 he received his abbatial

Abbot

The word abbot, meaning father, is a title given to the head of a monastery in various traditions, including Christianity. The office may also be given as an honorary title to a clergyman who is not actually the head of a monastery...

 blessing from Dr. Wilhelm Egger, Bishop of Bolzano-Brixen

Roman Catholic Diocese of Bolzano-Brixen

The Diocese of Bolzano-Brixen is a Catholic diocese in northern Italy, with its seat in the city of Bolzano. Its territory corresponds with that of the province of South Tyrol with its predominantly German-speaking population...

. On 24 August 2006 he was re-elected as grand master at the general chapter in Vienna. In July 2010 he was a guest of the President of Poland at the 600th anniversary of the Battle of Grunwald

Battle of Grunwald

The Battle of Grunwald or 1st Battle of Tannenberg was fought on 15 July 1410, during the Polish–Lithuanian–Teutonic War. The alliance of the Kingdom of Poland and the Grand Duchy of Lithuania, led respectively by King Jogaila and Grand Duke Vytautas , decisively defeated the Teutonic Knights, led...

.

Further reading

• "Die letzten Ritter von Wien", Der Standard
  Der Standard
  Der Standard is an Austrian national daily newspaper which is published in Vienna . It was founded by Oscar Bronner as a financial newspaper and the first edition was published on 1988-10-19...
  
  (17 August 2009).