The Chaplains of the Order of St. John in Malta : 1631-1798

Abstract

In the past years a lot of research has been carried out concerning various branches of the Order of St. John, throughout its stay in the island of Malta. But there are still a number of branches about which no thing or very little research has been carried out. Amongst these branches one finds that concerning the Chaplains of the Order; and this was one of the reasons which encouraged me to carry out research on this. The other reason which instigated me to carry out this particular research, was that after the arrival of the Order in Malta, the Maltese were only accepted as Chaplains in the Order; and as Clerics they could even be elected to the office of Prior of the Conventual Church. In fact, three Maltese Chaplains - Fra Giorgio Giampieri, Fra Salvatore Imbroll and Fra Raimondo Albino Menville, were elected to this important and lucrative post. We shall endeavour in this dissertation to illustrate three facts. The status and privileges of the Chaplains at the time of the Orders arrival in Malta, and after the Chapter Generals of 1631 and 1776, to whom has been assigned a chapter each, the pastoral work carried out by the Chaplains, in the Holy Infirmary, the Galleys and the churches of the Order throughout the island and the benefices which they enjoyed, and finally to give an account of the finances of the venerable Assembly of Conventual Chaplains, and the manner in which the Chaplains administered their property. Special importance has been given to the Priory of the Conventual Church which was the highest ranking office held by the Conventual Chaplains, an account of the special position which this post held in the Order, and the privileges and prerogatives which were attached to it. Before concluding this introductory note, I would sincerely like to thank Professor Andrew P. Vella O.P., Head of the Department of History, R.U.M., who encouraged me to take up this particular research, and who gave invaluable help throughout. Similarly, I would also like to thank all the members of the Department of History for their co-operation, especially Miss Ann Williams and Mr Godfrey Wettinger, for their many valuable suggestions. Special thanks are also due to Chev. Joseph Galea of the Royal Malta Library, who kindly helped me in the better understanding of the Latin texts, and Fr. John Azzopardi, the Curator of the Cathedral Archives. Finally, I would like to thank all those, especially my fellow researchers Mr C. Galea Scannura, Miss A. Pisani and Miss M. Galea and all the staff of the Royal Malta Library, who either through their encouragement or help have rendered the compilation of this work a reality.