Brief Biography
Jean de la Cassière governed during a period of internal tension and the wider religious divisions of the Reformation.
Sources: Order of Malta: The Grand Masters; Wikipedia: Grand Masters of the Knights Hospitaller.
Life and service to the Order
His mastership saw conflict within the Order and the separation of the Brandenburg bailiwick in 1581.
On Malta the Order developed hospitals, fortifications and a maritime presence while governing the islands. Its religious and charitable purposes continued alongside these public responsibilities.
Jean de La Cassiere (1572-82), the next Grand Master, was proud and arrogant and very much disliked by the Knights. He was responsible for the introduction of the Inquisition in Malta, but he was also a great benefactor of the Order. He built the Sacra Infermeria and the Conventual Church of St John, both still the pride of Valletta today. In addition it w4s in his days that the stately auberges began to grace the new city, the first of these, the Auberges de Provence, d'Italie and Aragon being built during his rule.
Historical context: Order of Malta, The Grand Masters; History of the Order.
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