Lux æterna luceat eis, Domine, cum sanctis tuis in æternum, quia pius es. Requiem æternam dona eis, Domine, et lux perpetua luceat eis. Cum sanctis tuis in æternum, quia pius es.

It is with a deepest sadness that I have to announce the unexpected news of the death, in his 79th year, after a long and hard battle against cancer, of His Most Eminent Highness Fra’ Andrew Willoughby Ninian Bertie, 78th Prince and Grand Master of the Sovereign Military Hospitaller Order of St. John of Jerusalem, of Rhodes and Malta, who passed away few hours ago, at 11:40pm Thursday night, in a clinic of Rome, Italy.

In the summer 2006, His Highness Fra’ Andrew Bertie had been diagnosed and operated for a malignant tumor in the neck region, and more recently developed the pancreatic cancer that carried him off tonight, a month after his traditional New Year’s Day address. The increasing physical damages caused by the disease had made him totally blind in his last days, but up to the latest moments, he will have suffered his long and terrible illness with an incredible force of character, patience and a profound religious faith.

Loved by all the members and volunteers of the Order, his death will leave an enormous gap, obviously in all the community of the Order around the world, but also for all who, beyond the official circumstances, had the chance to approach in his private life Fra’ Bertie, as he wished to be called, a real noble-hearted and serene gentleman, with vast knowledge, full of a very British “reserve” and a great humanity, who inspired affection as well as respect, and whose life was entirely devoted to the exercise of the Christian virtues of faith, hope and charity, to the Catholic Church and to the service of all those most in need.

As all who are devastated by the untimely loss of this holy man with sound judgement, I will keep in particular the souvenir of the private man, humble and quiet, living with his mother Lady Jean in the “Villa Depiro” in Attard, Malta [1] — the Island that he so cherished, talking with a very British passion — while he was known in his public life to be a man of few words — of his garden and his orange trees, a constant source of pride for him, and of his local patronages, particularly the Malta Judo Federation [2], at the side of which Fra’ Bertie, 3rd Dan black belt, invested himself much, and always showed a great enthusiasm and availability to teach judo courses to children.

While expressing, at the name of the Fund, my most sincere condolences to all the members of the Order, in this sad circumstance, my thoughts also go to his younger brother, Peregrine, President of the British Association of the Order of Malta from 1996 to 2001, his nephew and his niece, David and Caroline, and his great-nieces and -nephews, Charlotte, Lucy, Hugo and Rory.

Pierre Olivier LEROY

In memoriam

ANDREW WILLOUGHBY NINIAN BERTIE was born in London, England on May 15, 1929, elder son of Lt.-Cdr. Hon. James Willoughby Bertie (1901-1966) — younger son of Montagu Arthur Bertie (1836-1928), 7th Earl of Abingdon — with Lady Jean Crichton-Stuart (1908-1995), daughter of Sir John Crichton-Stuart (1881-1947), 4th Marquess of the County of Bute.
Fourth cousin twice removed of Queen Elizabeth II by common descent from King George III (1738-1820) and Queen Charlotte (1744-1818), a branch of the Bertie’s family had been Dukes of Ancaster and Kesteven, when the family Crichton-Stuart descends from Robert II "the Steward" (1316-1390), King of Scots (later spelled "Stuart").

Andrew Bertie was educated at Ampleforth College, North Yorkshire, where he was in St. Edward’s House until 1947 with House Master Fr Raphael Williams. Next, he read Modern History at Christ Church, one of the largest constituent colleges of the University of Oxford, before attending the School of Oriental and African Studies, specialist college of the University of London committed to arts and humanities, languages and cultures, law and social sciences concerning Asia, Africa, and the Near and Middle East.

From 1948 to 1950, Andrew Bertie spent his National Service in the Scots Guards (SG), being appointed Commissioned Officer in 1949. After a short experience as foreign-exchange dealer at the stock exchange and financial journalist in the City of London, he then taught for twenty-three years modern languages, notably French and Spanish, at Worth School near Turners Hill, West Sussex, marking the memory of his students of the time as being the astonishing Master who was driving a Rolls-Royce...

With his long-dated friend William Anthony Furness (1929-1995), 2nd Viscount Furness, Andrew Bertie developed from his early adult life an increasing interest in the Order of Malta, joining the British Association in 1956. Becoming a full religious member in 1981 after taking solemn vows of “poverty, chastity and obedience”, he moved to Rome, Italy, where he served on the government of the Order as member of the Sovereign Council for the following seven years before being elected 78th Grand Master on April 8, 1988 [3] [4], succeeding Fra’ Angelo de Mojana di Cologna (1905-1988), the Milanese nobleman who had served the Order as Grand Master since 1962.

Under his brilliant Grand Mastership, a great work of modernisation of the Order’s internal structure and administration, already started by Fra’ Angelo de Mojana di Cologna, was accomplished, insufflating his refreshing and new “British” approach to the Order’s humanitarian programmes, extending in the same time the possibilities of aid to hitherto inaccessible regions. The Order’s bilateral diplomatic missions, offering assistance to afflicted countries in times of natural disasters or armed conflicts, augmented from 49 at the start of Fra’ Bertie’s tenure to 100, receiving in particular the status of Permanent Observer at the United Nations. He also established conferences at which members of the Order were invited to contribute to its work, were encouraged to commit themselves to the spiritual aspect of its mission to the sick and the poor, and were urged to live according to Christian principles. Above all, he wanted the Knights, even those not in vows, to see their calling as a religious vocation.

Fra’ Bertie was highly decorated and honoured during his life. He received five honorary doctorates, several honorary citizenships in Italy and around the world, and more than fifty decorations from various countries. On January 31st, 2006, H.R.H. Crown Prince Nicolas Petrovitch Njegosh of Montenegro invested him with the insignia of Knight Grand Cross with Diamond Star in the Order of Danilo I, and that of the Order of Saint Petar of Cetinje.

Frater
ANDREW WILLOUGHBY NINIAN BERTIE
78th Prince and Grand Master of the Sovereign Military
Hospitaller Order of St. John of Jerusalem,
of Rhodes and Malta
Most Humble Guardian of the Poor of Jesus Christ

May 15, 1929 — February 7, 2008

Requiem æternam dona ei, Domine,
et lux perpetua luceat ei.
Requiescat in pace.
Amen.