Pope Francis has dissolved the leadership of the Knights of Malta, a centuries-old Catholic order based in Rome that focusses on medical charity work worldwide, the Holy See said on Saturday.
The change to the Sovereign Council was issued in a decree by the pope. A provisional government will oversee the order until an election for top leadership posts - including a new grand master. That process is due to begin in January.
The Knights of Malta is a quasi-state, with its own passports and embassies, but has no land except two buildings as headquarters in Rome. It is independent of the Vatican, but its swears an oath of loyalty to the pope.
It currently has about 13,500 members around the world. It was founded in Jerusalem in the 11th century, before the Crusades.
The order - which has the official name Sovereign Military Hospitaller Order of Saint John of Jerusalem, of Rhodes and of Malta - has been in a long-running leadership crisis and Francis has publicly clashed with it in the past.
"The Order of Malta welcomes the paternal actions of His Holiness which demonstrate the great love the pontiff has for our order," said a statement from John Dunlap, the head of the provisional government.
"The pope's decision to empower a provisional government is the first step in a clear blueprint for more efficient, streamlined governance for the order," he said.
