Titles and style

The full title of Fra' Matthew is: His Most Eminent Highness

His Eminence

His Eminence is a historical style of reference for high nobility, still in use in various religious contexts.-Catholicism:The style remains in use as the official style or standard of address in reference to a cardinal of the Roman Catholic Church, reflecting his status as a Prince of the Church.A...

Fra' Matthew Festing, Prince and Grand Master of the Sovereign Military Hospitaller Order of St. John of Jerusalem, of Rhodes and of Malta, Most Humble Guardian of the Poor of Jesus Christ.

The Prince and Grand Master of the Order of Malta was the sovereign ruler of Malta

Malta

Malta , officially known as the Republic of Malta , is a Southern European country consisting of an archipelago situated in the centre of the Mediterranean, south of Sicily, east of Tunisia and north of Libya, with Gibraltar to the west and Alexandria to the east.Malta covers just over in...

 1530–1798, and asserts sovereign status to this day. The holder of the office received, ex officio, the title of Prince of the Holy Roman Empire

Princes of the Holy Roman Empire

The term Prince of the Holy Roman Empire denoted a secular or ecclesiastical Imperial State, who ruled over an immediate fief directly assigned by the Holy Roman Emperor...

 from the Holy Roman Emperor

Holy Roman Emperor

The Holy Roman Emperor is a term used by historians to denote a medieval ruler who, as German King, had also received the title of "Emperor of the Romans" from the Pope...

 in 1607 (as an honorary title, as the Prince and Grand Master was already a sovereign in his own right outside the Empire), and the style of His Most Eminent Highness from the Pope

Pope

The Pope is the Bishop of Rome, a position that makes him the leader of the worldwide Catholic Church . In the Catholic Church, the Pope is regarded as the successor of Saint Peter, the Apostle...

 in 1630, recognizing his status as a Prince of the Church

Prince of the Church

The term Prince of the Church is nowadays used nearly exclusively for Catholic Cardinals. However the term is historically more important as a generic term for clergymen whose offices hold the secular rank and privilege of a prince or are considered its equivalent...

. In the order of precedence

Order of precedence

An order of precedence is a sequential hierarchy of nominal importance of items. Most often it is used in the context of people by many organizations and governments...

 of the Catholic Church, Fra' Matthew ranks as the highest official after the cardinals, and is the only modern leader of an entity within the Catholic Church, in addition to the Pope, to be considered a sovereign monarch

Monarch

A monarch is the person who heads a monarchy. This is a form of government in which a state or polity is ruled or controlled by an individual who typically inherits the throne by birth and occasionally rules for life or until abdication...

 (historically, many (arch)bishops also had sovereign princely status).

Honours and decorations

: Sovereign Order of Malta

• • Grand Master (2008)
  • Knight of Justice (1991)
  • Member (1977) Commonwealth realms: Bailiff Grand Cross of Justice of the Venerable Order of Saint John
    Venerable Order of Saint John
    The Most Venerable Order of the Hospital of Saint John of Jerusalem , is a royal order of chivalry established in 1831 and found today throughout the Commonwealth of Nations, Hong Kong, Ireland and the United States of America, with the world-wide mission "to prevent and relieve sickness and...
    
     (14 December 2010): Knight Grand Cross of the Grand Order of King Tomislav
    Grand Order of King Tomislav
    The Grand Order of King Tomislav , or more fully the Grand Order of King Tomislav with Sash and Great Morning Star , is the highest state order of the Republic of Croatia...
    
     (12 October 2006): Knight Grand Cross of the Order of St. Charles
    Order of St. Charles
    The Order of Saint-Charles is an order established in Monaco on 15 March 1858. This order rewards service to the State or Prince. It is awarded by the current Prince Albert II.- Knight Grand Cross :...
    
     (2009): Grand Collar of the Order of St. James of the Sword (2010): Grand Cross with Sash of the Order of the Star of Romania
    Order of the Star of Romania
    The Order of the Star of Romania is Romania's highest civil order. It is awarded by the President of Romania...
    
     (2008): Officer of the Order of the British Empire
    Order of the British Empire
    The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is an order of chivalry established on 4 June 1917 by George V of the United Kingdom. The Order comprises five classes in civil and military divisions...
    
     (June 1998): Territorial Decoration
    Territorial Decoration
    The Territorial Decoration was a medal of the United Kingdom awarded for long service in the Territorial Force and its successor, the Territorial Army...
    
    : Deputy Lieutenant
    Deputy Lieutenant
    In the United Kingdom, a Deputy Lieutenant is one of several deputies to the Lord Lieutenant of a lieutenancy area; an English ceremonial county, Welsh preserved county, Scottish lieutenancy area, or Northern Irish county borough or county....
    
     of the County of Northumberland

Honorary degrees

• Honorary D.H.L.
  Doctor of Humane Letters
  The degree of Doctor of Humane Letters is always conferred as an honorary degree, usually to those who have distinguished themselves in areas other than science, government, literature or religion, which are awarded degrees of Doctor of Science, Doctor of Laws, Doctor of Letters, or Doctor of...
  
   degree from the Catholic University of America (Washington, D.C.
  Washington, D.C.
  Washington, D.C., formally the District of Columbia and commonly referred to as Washington, "the District", or simply D.C., is the capital of the United States. On July 16, 1790, the United States Congress approved the creation of a permanent national capital as permitted by the U.S. Constitution....
  
  , October 2009)

External links

• The Prince and Grand Master Fra’ Matthew Festing - Official website of the Sovereign Order of Malta