Papal Recognition

 

Under the inspiration and guidance of Blessed Peter Gerard de Martiques (1087-1118) and Blessed Raymond du Puis (1118-1160) who were the first Masters of the Hospital, the Order grew and flourished. Consequently, this Order of Hospitallers was formally raised to the rank of a monastic order in 1098 A.D. Shortly thereafter, in 1104 A.D., Baldwin I, King of Jerusalem, recognized and confirmed the Brothers of the Hospital as an international corporation.

The Order was soon advanced to the status of an exempt religious order when Pope Pascal II personally sanctioned the Order's nature and purpose, and established its preeminence by his Papal Bull of March 15, 1113. (A papal bull is a formal document or command regarding a most important matter or solemn occasion. It carries the official bulla or seal of the Church bearing the representations of Saints Peter and Paul, along with the name of the reigning pontiff.)

In this proclamation Pascal II granted the Order special privileges, and further declared that the Order "shall now be placed, and shall forever remain, under the protection of the Apostolic See, and under that of the blessed apostle Peter."

By 1121, the Order of Saint John was already functioning as a military-religious order of knighthood. Further recognition was bestowed on this now venerable and renowned Order by the Papal Bulls of Pope Innocent II in 1130 and Pope Anastasius IV in 1154, both of which confirmed and extended the unique rights and privileges of the holy Order.