The Sovereign Order of Malta has elected Canadian Fra' John T. Dunlap as its 81st grand master, the first non-European ever to head the order.

ROME -- The grand master of the Sovereign Order of Malta has reminded members that all liturgical celebrations within the order must be celebrated according to the ordinary form of the Roman rite, not the extraordinary form, known as the Tridentine rite.

ROME – While European leaders continue to debate how to handle the influx of migrants, the head of the Order of Malta's Italian relief corps said that search and rescue operations are a human obligation.

ROME – The new lieutenant of the grand master of the Knights of Malta will lead efforts to reform the order following a tumultuous period that brought to light many of the ancient institution's internal disputes.

VATICAN CITY – Pope Francis named Archbishop Angelo Becciu, Vatican substitute secretary of state, as his special delegate and sole spokesman to the Sovereign Military Order of Malta.

ROME – After weeks of very public tensions with the Vatican, the head of the Sovereign Military Order of Malta accepted Pope Francis' request that he submit his resignation.

CHABROUH, Lebanon – In a pristine mountain setting in Lebanon, a female volunteer gently takes hold of the hands of Mohammed, a disabled adult who has trouble communicating. She gazes into his eyes – still shaded in heart-shaped sunglasses from the dress-up activity a few hours earlier – as she engages him in a dance to the rhythm of the music playing in the background.

VATICAN CITY - Gay marriage was never on the agenda at the recent Synod of Bishops on the Family and the subject “did not cross our minds,” Pope Francis said in a new headline-grabbing interview.

VATICAN CITY - Pope Francis said the Catholic Church must find new ways to integrate the divorced and civilly remarried in the life of the church and to make it easier for Catholic families to accept their homosexual members.

BETHLEHEM - Hospitals are mostly in the habit of receiving patients. In Bethlehem, Holy Family Hospital also receives pilgrims.

Cardinal Thomas Collins is presented with the Order of Malta’s Bailiff Grand Cross of Honour and Devotion by the order’s Canadian president Dr. André Morin on June 23. The cardinal was given the honour after presiding at the Order of Malta’s annual celebration of the Feast of St. John the Baptist, patron saint of the order. It was bestowed on behalf of the Grand Master and the Sovereign Council of the order in Rome. The Order of Malta is one of the oldest lay orders in the Catholic Church, founded in 1099. (Photo by Alexander Puettner)