Brief Biography
Juan de Lascaris-Castellar governed Malta for more than twenty years.
Sources: Order of Malta: The Grand Masters; Wikipedia: Grand Masters of the Knights Hospitaller.
Life and service to the Order
His mastership coincided with further coastal defences and the Order's short-lived colonial presence in the Caribbean.
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.
Grand Master Jean Paul Lascaris (1636-57) was a man of firm and strong character. During his period, Spain and France were at war and this created intense hatred between the Knights of the warring nations. His resourcefulness and diplomacy helped to solve the Order's interminable difficulties. He also completed the Floriana fortifications which his predecessor began building after the design of the famous Italian engineer Paolo Floriani.
Historical context: Order of Malta, The Grand Masters; History of the Order.
Further images from the archive
