The Ambassador of the Sovereign Order of Malta to the Republic of Austria, H.E. DI Sebastian Prinz von Schoenaich-Carolath, presented the Apostolic Nuncio to Austria, H.E. Archbishop Dr. Pedro López Quintana, with the Grand Cross Pro Merito Melitensi. The reason for this is the close relationship between the Nuncio and the Order of Malta, to whom he is always available as a dialogue partner and advises with his extensive experience.

H.E. Archbishop Dr. Pedro López Quintana has been working in the Diplomatic Service of the Holy See since 1984. Since 2019 he has been the Apostolic Nuncio in Austria. He previously served in Madagascar, the Philippines, India and Nepal, as well as in the General Affairs Department of the Vatican Secretariat of State, before being appointed Apostolic Nuncio to Canada and subsequently to Lithuania, Estonia and Latvia – regions in which the Order of Malta is in the process of establishing itself under the supervision of the Grand Priory of Austria. As Conventual Chaplain and Grand Cross Chaplain ad honorem of the Sovereign Order of Malta, H.E. Archbishop Dr Pedro López Quintana has now been awarded the Grand Cross Pro Merito Melitensi in order to express the Order’s appreciation of his supportive work.

After a Holy Mass celebrated by the Apostolic Nuncio in the chapel of the Apostolic Nunciature in Vienna, H.E. Ambassador Prince von Schoenaich-Carolath presented the award in the presence of the Grand Prior of Austria, Fra’ Gottfried Kühnelt-Leddihn, the Envoy and Deputy Minister of the Embassy of the Order of Malta to the Republic of Austria, Constantin Ritter von Hoheneck, the Delegate of the Order’s Vienna-Lower Austria Delegation, Markus Count Pejascevich de Veröcze, and several members of the chapter.

In his laudatory speech, Ambassador Schoenaich-Carolath emphasised the value of his experience and the close ties between the Apostolic Nuncio and the Order of Malta. The Nuncio summarised the developments in the relations between the Sovereign Order of Malta and the Holy See in recent years, stressing the importance of close cooperation to promote the spiritual strengthening of the Order’s members, which is expressed in its concrete relief work. Therefore, the Order of Malta is not an organisation like any other NGO, but a religious work rooted in faith. He thanked the Order for its religious activities as well as its extensive relief work.