FILE - In this June 23, 2016 file photo, Pope Francis delivers his blessing during his meeting with Grand Master of the Knights of Malta Matthew Festing, left, at the Vatican. The Knights of Malta have confirmed that Matthew Festing, the Prince and Grand Master of the Order, has agreed to submit his resignation after being asked to do so in a meeting with Pope Francis Tuesday.“The Grand Master met the pope yesterday evening and (Pope Francis) asked him to resign,” Eugenio Ajroldi di Robbiate, Communications Director for the Order of Malta, said on Jan. 25.He said the decision “wasn’t anticipated...no one knew anything,” but Festing was cooperative and agreed to submit his resignation to the government of the Order. Cardinal Parolin began his letter by re-emphasizing that the Grand Commander, Ludwig Hoffmann von Rumerstein, is now in charge of the Order, adding that “in the renewal process which is seen as necessary,” the Pope would “appoint his personal Delegate with powers that he will define in the act of appointing him.”

Grand Master Fra’ Matthew Festing submitted his resignation Jan. 24, according to a Jan. 25 Vatican statement. The Grand Master’s resignation cuts short his lifetime appointment, to which he was elected in 2008.However, according to the Order’s constitutions, if a Grand Master wants to resign he must convoke the governing council, submit his resignation request to them, and they must then approve it in order for the resignation to be official.Until then, Festing “technically is still Grand Master,” Robbiate said, explaining that the vote is set to take place on Saturday.He said that given the Order’s constitutional requirement for a Grand Master’s resignation to be accepted, there is “absolutely theoretically” a possibility that Festing’s request will be rejected, however, “it’s improbable.”Robbiate had no comment on the current Vatican investigation into the Order’s dismissal of their former Grand Chancellor, saying “I honestly can’t say” if Festing’s resignation would in any way affect the Vatican’s inquiry.A Jan. 25 communiqué from the Vatican confirmed the news, saying Festing “resigned from the office of Grand Master” during his meeting with the pope Tuesday.Pope Francis, it read, accepted Festing's resignation Wednesday, “expressing appreciation and gratitude to Fra’ Festing for his loyalty and devotion to the Successor of Peter, and his willingness to serve humbly the good of the Order and the Church.”The Vatican also confirmed that until a papal delegate is appointed to oversee governance of the Order, their Grand Commander, Ludwig Hoffmann von Rumerstein, would guide it in the interim.Festing's agreement to resign follows a conflict between the Order of Malta and the Holy See over the dismissal of the Knights' former Grand Chancellor, Albrecht Freiherr von Boeselager, in December 2016.
Pope Francis takes de facto control of the Sovereign Military Order of Malta (the entity retains sovereignty under international law), forcing its leader Prince and Grand Master Matthew Festing to resign.