An intensely spiritual man with a compelling sense of duty and a deep appreciation of history and the arts, encapsulated in witty self-deprecating humour.
After graduating from the Royal University of Malta, John Edward Critien furthered his studies in Italy, firstly in Perugia, then in Pisa, where he settled, living there for over 20 years, pursuing a career teaching English language and literature.
Discerning a vocation, yet, given his typical modesty, considering himself unworthy of the act of consecration, he gravitated naturally towards a religious life within the Order of Malta. Overcoming his initial misgivings, he allowed close friends to convince him to participate in the pilgrimage to Lourdes in the early 1980s, leading to a lifelong passion for this annual event, and for those to the Italian shrines of Assisi and Loreto. Years later he was the first, and only, Maltese to chair the Council for Pilgrimages of the Order’s Langue of Italy, bearing ultimate responsibility for well over 3,000 participants.
Volunteering was a passion, leading him to set up a number of youth groups within the Order in Italy, coordinating activities to help the infirm and the needy. His natural talent as an educator, and his fondness of sharing his impressive knowledge especially with the young, gave him a magnetic personality – a trait he shared with his close friend and mentor Andrew Bertie, 78th
Grand Master of the Order of Malta, and whose cause for beatification and canonisation he helped to promote.
Fra’ John entered the Order in 1983, in what was then the very lowest rank: Donat of Devotion Third Class. He attained the very highest – Bailiff Grand Cross of Justice – just under 30 years later, prompting a close friend of his, well aware of his dry sense of humour, to send him an email which delighted him: congratulating the ugly duckling on its transformation into a swan!
He took his vows in the hands of Grand Master Bertie, shattering a glass ceiling at the time which made it exceedingly difficult for commoners to join the Professed ranks. He broke through a similar barrier only a few months ago, when he was the first Maltese, and the first non-noble, to take the oath of office as Grand Prior of Rome. In this he was supported by various members of the Maltese and Italian nobility, who embraced the notion of nobility of spirit taking its rightful place alongside genealogical heritage.
Elected to the Sovereign Council several times, he held various roles, notably conservator of the Order’s art collection. He curated landmark exhibitions in Malta and abroad, among them one on fine bookbinding and another on antique Chinese porcelain, collaboratively between the Order, the Government of Malta and private collectors, held at Fort St Angelo in Vittoriosa.
I treasure the memory of my involvement with the former, when Fra’ John asked me to help him deliver priceless books from Rome to Malta. Together we drove a loaded van to Reggio Calabria where we boarded the Maltese Falcon headed to Valletta, planning to share overnight cabins with friendly truck drivers. The captain’s horrified look when examining Fra’ John’s diplomatic passport (the Order’s passport at the time came complete with an impressive lead seal) prompted him to offer us the owners’ cabin for the night!
He was a proud resident of Città Vittoriosa and would lovingly joke about how often he would be regaled with an hawn Fra’ (loosely translated as ‘hey Brother’) on his daily walk through the city. He was genuinely loved by the residents, again making use of his old teacher’s hat when encouraging a group of enterprising youths to put up musical performances at the Fort, where he was Knight Resident for over 20 years.
His diplomatic skills were often put to the test, especially during the latter months of Fra’ Matthew Festing’s Grand Magistry. One notable occasion was when he was tasked with contacting a highly respected member of the Order asking him to consider accepting the post of interim Grand Chancellor (the equivalent of prime minister) after the dismissal of Albrecht Boeselager. The difficult job – rendered more so as Critien and Boeselager enjoyed mutual respect – was made immeasurably harder when the council asked Fra’ John to take on the role himself instead. He made it patently clear to close friends that it was a post he had no desire for, yet did his superiors’ bidding out of a selfless sense of duty and loyalty to the Order, taking much flak for it later, especially after Festing’s own dismissal and Boeselager’s reinstatement.
His knowledge of the history of the Order was encyclopaedic, and, in his role as curator of its art collection, oversaw the conservation of priceless paintings, furniture, and other historically important artefacts. He collaborated with the academic community in Malta and abroad, contributing articles to various publications and other important initiatives. He was recently working on a future publication to showcase the Order’s maritime heritage and had plans for another detailing the knights’ armorial silver.
I shall remember Fra’ John most of all as a close friend, a confidant, and a mentor, and will never forget his dry wit and keen sense of humour, confident that he is enjoying the heavenly reward he so richly deserved.
To his brother, Anton, his sister-in-law Geraldine, and his nephews Ian and Peter, as well as to his brothers in the Order of Malta: my sincerest condolences.
Fra’ John Edward Critien, professed member of the Order of Malta, and grand prior of Rome, passed into eternal life on December 3, aged 73.
Daniel de Petri Testaferrata, president of the Maltese Association of the Order of Malta