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Order pro Merito Melitensi

Order of merit of the Sovereign Military Order of Malta

Summary

Order of merit of the Sovereign Military Order of Malta

Field	Value
title	Order pro Merito Melitensi
image	Croix mérite malte.svg
caption	Cross of the order
established	1920
type	Order of merit
status	Currently constituted
grades	Collar
Grand Cross, Special Class
Grand Cross
Grand Officer
Commander
Officer
Cross
awarded_by
Sovereign Military Order of Malta
higher	Order of Saint John
image2	[[File: Ordine al merito melitense BAR.svg	90px]]
Military ribbon
caption2	[[File:MelitenseMilitare.png	90px]]
Civil ribbon

Grand Cross, Special Class Grand Cross Grand Officer Commander Officer Cross Sovereign Military Order of Malta Military ribbon Civil ribbon The Order of Merit (; ) is the order of merit of the Sovereign Military Order of Malta, established in 1920. It is awarded to recipients who have brought honour to the Sovereign Military Order of Malta, promoted Christian values and for charity as defined by the Roman Catholic Church. Unlike Knights or Dames of the Order of Malta (which is a military order of chivalry), those decorated with the Order are not invested in a religious ceremony, do not swear any oath or make any religious commitment. It may therefore be bestowed upon non-Catholics. Conferees include prominent statesmen, such as Presidents Ronald Reagan, who received it while still in office, and George H. W. Bush.

The order comprises two ranks and six grades, including Commander, now rare in the Order of Malta, and has no nobiliary grades, thus being comparable to numerous orders of merit around the world, including the Papal orders, France's Order of National Merit and Britain's Order of the British Empire.

The medals are inscribed with the abbreviated , which translates roughly as Military Order Knight of Merit Well Deserved. By the medieval period both milites (from which derives the word militaris) and equites are terms for knights, even though the original distinction was foot soldiers and cavalry respectively.

Order ''pro Merito Melitensi''

Cross_Pro_Merito_Melitensi.jpg|Cross pro Merito Melitensi Order pro merito Melitensi - Grand Cross - Badge 01.jpg|Commander pro Merito Melitensi neck decoration Grand Cross of the Order of Malta - IMG 4994.JPG|Grand Cross pro Merito Melitensi breast star Ordre Pro Merito Melitensi - Pro piis meritis.png|Cross Pro piis meritis Pro merito melitensi

Collar of the Order ''pro Merito Melitensi''

:[[File:OPMM-colX.svg|100px]] Pro Merito Melitensi Collar – Military Class :[[File:OPMM-co.svg|100px]] Pro Merito Melitensi Collar – Civilian Class : Single grade, usually bestowed to Heads of State only.

Cross of the Order ''pro Merito Melitensi''

Military Class

:[[File:OPMM-gcsX.svg|100px]] Grand Cross with Swords pro Merito Melitensi – Special Class :[[File:OPMM-gcX.svg|100px]] Grand Cross with Swords pro Merito Melitensi :[[File:OPMM-guX.svg|100px]] Grand Officer Cross with Swords pro Merito Melitensi :[[File:OPMM-cX.svg|100px]] Commander Cross with Swords pro Merito Melitensi :[[File:OPMM-uX.svg|100px]] Officer Cross with Swords pro Merito Melitensi :[[File:Ordine al merito melitense BAR.svg|100px]] Cross with Swords pro Merito Melitensi

Civilian Class

:[[File:OPMM-gcs.svg|100px]] Grand Cross pro Merito Melitensi – Special Class :[[File:OPMM-gc.svg|100px]] Grand Cross pro Merito Melitensi :[[File:OPMM-gu.svg|100px]] Grand Officer Cross pro Merito Melitensi :[[File:OPMM-c.svg|100px]] Commander Cross pro Merito Melitensi :[[File:OPMM-u.svg|100px]] Officer Cross pro Merito Melitensi :[[File:MelitenseMilitare.png|100px]] Cross pro Merito Melitensi

Ecclesiastics Class

:[[File:OPMM-gcr.svg|100px]] Grand Cross pro Piis Meritis Melitensi :[[File:OPMM-r.svg|100px]] Cross pro Piis Meritis Melitensi

Medal of the Order ''pro Merito Melitensi''

Old style (1920–1960)

:[[File:SMOM-meritAU.svg|100px]] Gold Medal pro Merito Melitensi :[[File:SMOM-meritAG.svg|100px]] Silver Medal pro Merito Melitensi :[[File:SMOM-meritBZ.svg|100px]] Bronze Medal pro Merito Melitensi

Military Class

:[[File:MOPMM-oX.svg|100px]] Gold Medal with Swords pro Merito Melitensi :[[File:MOPMM-aX.svg|100px]] Silver Medal with Swords pro Merito Melitensi :[[File:MOPMM-bX.svg|100px]] Bronze Medal with Swords pro Merito Melitensi

Civilian Class

:[[File:MOPMM-o.svg|100px]] Gold Medal pro Merito Melitensi :[[File:MOPMM-a.svg|100px]] Silver Medal pro Merito Melitensi :[[File:MOPMM-b.svg|100px]] Bronze Medal pro Merito Melitensi

The Order ''pro Merito Melitensi''

Classes of the Order ''pro Merito Melitensi''

The Order pro Merito Melitensi comprises the following classes:

Collar
Cross
Medal

The Collar ''pro Merito Melitensi''

The Collar only has a single grade, but is separated into two divisions, namely "Collar pro Merito Melitensi" for Civilians and "Collar with Swords pro Merito Melitensi" for the Military. The Collar is only awarded to Heads of State.

The Cross ''pro Merito Melitensi''

The Cross is bestowed upon both civilians and military personnel, comprising several grades:

Grand Cross pro Merito Melitensi – Special Class
Grand Cross pro Merito Melitensi
Grand Officer pro Merito Melitensi (with Badge for women)
Commander pro Merito Melitensi (with Crown for women)
Officer pro Merito Melitensi (with Coat of arms for women)
Cross pro Merito Melitensi

N.B: these decorations are "with Swords" for serving military and "without Swords" for civilians.

The Cross ''"pro piis meritis" pro Merito Melitensi''

When awarded to ecclesiastics, it has the same cross as awarded to civilians and military personnel. Nevertheless, this ribbon is black crossed with two thin red lines and comprises only two grades :

Grand Cross "pro piis meritis" pro Merito Melitensi,
Cross "pro piis meritis" pro Merito Melitensi.

The Medal ''pro Merito Melitensi''

This class has three grades: Gold, Silver and Bronze.

Ribbons

There are only three different types of ribbons for both the medal and the crosses.

Cross of Merit, Ecclesiastical	Cross of Merit, Civil	Cross of Merit, Military	Ribbon	Black ribbon
with thin red stripes	White ribbon
with large red stripes	Red ribbon
with large white stripes
[[Image:Ordine pro merito Melitensi, ecclesiastici.png	220px]]	[[Image:MelitenseMilitare.png	220px]]	[[Image:Ordine al merito melitense BAR.svg	220px]]

References

Order of Malta Prayer Book Published by the Grand Priory of England 2022

Wikipedia Source

This article was imported from Wikipedia and is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Content has been adapted to SurfDoc format. Original contributors can be found on the article history page.

awards-established-in-1920 1920-establishments-in-italy orders-of-merit orders,-decorations,-and-medals-of-the-sovereign-military-order-of-malta

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