It is a document that some collectors would dream of having.
Not because of the power it grants, but because of its rarity.
This precious piece is a passport, and not just any passport.
The one issued by the Sovereign Military Order of Malta would quite simply be the rarest passport in the world, with some 500 copies in circulation, as recently reported by the American media
CNN
.
The precious notebook with the red cover is the fruit of a thousand-year-old history, linked to a religious and humanitarian order also known as the “Knights of Malta”.
The question is legitimate: how is it that an order, which is therefore not a State, has the capacity to issue passports?
We must look for the answer in international law.
The Knights of Malta exercise functional sovereignty which allows them to maintain diplomatic relations with 112 states.
The Order has a flag, composes its government and has a permanent observer seat at the United Nations.
It even has its own constitution, the latest version of which was promulgated by Pope Francis in September 2022. And, more curiously: it mints its own currency, even though it has no territory, only addresses in Rome.
There are some 500 diplomatic passports in circulation.
Military Order of Malta
Passports issued from the 14th century
The Sovereign Military Order of Malta has a very specific mission:
“to help people who live in the midst of armed conflicts or are victims of natural disasters by providing them with medical assistance, treating refugees and distributing medicines and equipment basic necessary for their survival”
, we can read on its site.
It provides assistance to anyone who needs it, regardless of their origin or religion, and does not claim to belong to any State.
Placed under the control of the Vatican in September 2022, the Order has maintained tense relations with the Holy See for several years.
To understand the influence of one of the oldest Catholic orders in the world, we have to go back in time.
More precisely in 1048 in Jerusalem, date and place of birth of the religious community of the Hospitallers of Saint John.
Under the leadership of Brother Gérard (declared Blessed Gérard), founder and first Master, the religious community became a lay religious order.
In 1530, the latter experienced a turning point in its history, when it took possession of the island of Malta, on which it remained for more than 250 years, before being driven out by Napoleon Bonaparte.
Today, the Order has its headquarters in Rome.
Only 100 of the 13,500 knights, ladies and chaplains, scattered around the world, live on the Maltese archipelago.
The first passports of the Order were issued in the 14th century, to allow members to exercise their diplomatic function with other States.
After the Second World War, the use of this precious sesame took on the same characteristics as those of other countries.
Since 2005, passports provided by the Order of Malta include biometric data and comply with International Civil Aviation Organization standards.
How to obtain this passport?
There are two types of passports issued by the Sovereign Order of Malta: diplomatic passports (500 are currently in circulation) and service passports, issued to the Order's humanitarian personnel and civil servants working in dangerous areas (around fifty were distributed).
“Diplomatic passports of the Sovereign Military Order of Malta are granted exclusively to the Grand Master and members of the Sovereign Council, to the heads and members of its diplomatic missions (and to their spouses and minor children), to the Grands Priors and to the Presidents of its National Associations”
, we can read on the website of the Sovereign Order of Malta.
“In addition, diplomatic passports are granted to high-level individuals entrusted with special missions or to individuals who hold positions of responsibility within the Grand Magisterium of the Order of Malta.”
Obtaining this document therefore meets very strict conditions and its validity is linked to the duration of the mandate and ends at the end of it.
Difficult to obtain, but also... to keep.