The Prince and Grand Master of the Sovereign Military Hospitaller Order of St. John of Jerusalem, of Rhodes and Malta, His Most Eminent Highness Fra’ Andrew Bertie, will go to Montenegro tomorrow, on Friday March 12, for a four-day visit, which will culminate in a pilgrimage to the Holy Icon of Our Lady of Philermos, and to the sacred Christian relics of the Holy Cross and the right hand of St. John the Baptist.

The Order’s delegation consists of representatives of the Sovereign Council (Council of Ministers), members of the clergy, professed Knights, the Order’s Ambassador to Serbia-and-Montenegro, H.E. Mr. Stefan Falez, and H.E. Ambassador Alessandro Quaroni, Secretary General for International Affairs of the Sovereign Order of Malta.

The Holy Icon of Our Lady of Philermos, Patroness of the Knights of Malta [1], first held in Rhodes, then successively in Malta, Russia and Yugoslavia, disappeared during the Second World War and was only re-discovered in Montenegro less than ten years ago, in 1993. It is presently preserved at the King’s Palace, now National Museum of Cetinje, the old Royal capital of Montenegro.
The sacred Christian relics of the Holy Cross and the right hand of St. John the Baptist — the hand that Gospels account baptized Jesus Christ in the waters of the Jordan — are, as for them, both preserved at the St. Peter of Cetinje Monastery.

The agenda of the Order’s delegation in Montenegro also includes several cordial meetings with country’s officials — notably with the President of Montenegro, H.E. Mr. Filip Vujanović, the President of the Parliament, Mr. Ranko Krivokapić, the Prime Minister, Mr. Milo Đukanović, and the Minister of Culture, Mrs. Vesna Kilibarda — as well as with a series of civic leaders in Montenegro.

A lunch offered by the Government of Montenegro is planned on the invitation of the Montenegrin Minister for Foreign Affairs, H.E. Mr. Dragiša Burzan.

The delegation will return to Rome, Italy on Monday March 15.