Ferdinand von Hompesch was the only German and the last grand master of the Hospitaller Knights who ruled in Malta.

Son of Baron Johann Wilhelm von Hompesch and Baroness Isabella von Bylandt, he was born on November 9, 1744. The name of this noble family, whose ancestry goes back to the 13th century, has survived in a small hamlet, situated between Monchengladbach and Aachen. The Hompesch family no longer has any connection with the village and the castle of Bollheim, where Ferdinand was born.

Hompesch lived most of his life in Malta when he was a page to Grand Master Emmanuel Pinto Fonseca (1741-1773). In 1761, he was professed a knight of the Hospitaller Order of St John. Hompesch had an illustrious career, having been assigned high positions in the Order. Suffice it to say that as bailiff, before he was elected grand master, he was appointed diplomatic envoy of the Order at the Imperial Court in Vienna (1775-1797) resident in Malta.

On July 17, 1797, Hompesch was elected grand master by unanimous vote at a relatively young age of 53 for the magistracy of the Order. The Maltese did not have any say in that election. But Hompesch was very close to the Maltese. Tradition has it that he understood Maltese. This fact may have brought him closer to his subjects. There were knights who understood Maltese so as not to being at risk of deceit by being completely dependent on an interpreter.

The grand master readily accepted invitations to attend village festas. For example, on August 10, 1797, the feast of St Lawrence, Hompesch, accompanied by the Sacred Council and his entourage, crossed the Grand Harbour by gondola from Valletta to Vittoriosa. The grand master’s officials followed on a feluca.

He was given a warm welcome with a gun salute. The church of St Lawrence was robed and adorned for the feast. As the grand master entered the church, the hymn deus tuorom militum was sung to the accompaniment of the choir and orchestra. After mass, parish priest Don Giovanni Battista Delia intoned the Te deum. The grand master also kissed the relic of St Lawrence. He then visited the cloistered nuns of St Scolastica and afterwards, he met the Oratorian clergy.

His visit to Vittoriosa was the first of others in several other towns and villages. The grand master went to Senglea on September 8, 1797, for the feast of the Nativity of the Blessed Virgin.

Two days later, on September 10, the village of Żabbar was en fête for the feast of Our Lady of Grace. As Hompesch approached the village, the horses were removed and the grand master’s carriage was then drawn by villagers themselves to the parish church amid loud cheers and applause. Streets were decorated with banners and flags.

The presence of the grand master always occasioned a happy and festive atmosphere. He attended high mass from the throne. Afterwards, he was presented with a bouquet of flowers. The grand master reciprocated by advancing a sum of money for distribution to the poor.

The parish priest Don Carlo Caruana, on behalf of the clergy and the parishioners, petitioned the grand master to bestow the title of città to Żabbar, a request that was acceded to, so that the city henceforth became known as Città Hompesch.

At the sanctuary museum of Żabbar, there is permanently exhibited a sedan chair for the viaticum, a wall clock with the grand master’s coat-of-arms, an elegant armchair, and two paintings on wood representing St John the Baptist, patron of the Order and St Paul the Apostle, patron of Malta, respectively, all items having been given to the Marian sanctuary by the grand master.

Another link between Hompesch and Żabbar is Hompesch Gate, which was erected in 1801 to replace the original wooden arch that was erected for the grand master’s visit in 1797; the original arch consisted of eight wooden columns, two statues, the grand master’s coat-of-arms and inscriptions on parchment.

Yet other tangible mementoes of Hompesch in Żabbar are a street named after him – Hompesch Street – and a monument consisting of a bust portrait of Hompesch in Pjazza Medjatriċi; this monument was an initiative of the Żabbar civic council and was inaugurated on September 1, 1993.

On November 25, 1797, it was the turn of the village of Żejtun to celebrate the feast of its patron saint, St Catherine of Alexandria. The Żwieten did not fail to emulate the Żabbarin by inviting the grand master to their feast. The grand master assisted at high mass. The event was also marked by the distribution of a sonnet (innu) in praise of the grand master.

The parish priest Don Giacomo Michele Tortella, in the name of the clergy and the villagers, made a petition to the grand master to raise the village to the status of a city. In acceding to their request, the village was named Città Beland as Bylandt was the maiden name of the grand master’s mother.

On the calendar of the liturgical feasts, December 6, 1797, was the feast day of St Nicholas, patron saint of Siġġiewi. The grand master was invited to participate in the feast. A triumphal arch was erected on the main square. On both sides of the main street stood in line the soldiery of the galleys of the Order of St John.

The grand master passed under the arch, while a special band (scelta banda) played festive music. In the church, the grand master took his place on the throne when the parish priest Don Salvatore Corso presented the grand master with a bouquet of flowers (un bellissimo mazzetto di fiori elegantamente lavorato) and a copy of a sonnet inscribed in parchment and composed for the occasion.

Following a petition by the clergy and the villagers, the grand master bestowed on Siġġiewi the title of Città Ferdinando, after the grandmaster’s Christian name. A street in Siġġiewi, Triq Ferdinand Hompesch, still recalls the event.

On being invited to the village feast, the grand master would send in advance a sum of money to be distributed to the poor. It is recorded that on the occasion of the feast of the conversion of St Paul on January 25, 1798, which was being held in the small village of Safi, Hompesch dispatched for the purpose 250 scudi from his bounty and largesse. As he could not attend due to inclement weather, Hompesch apologised to the parish priest Dun Vittorio Cutajar. The feast was postponed to the first Sunday after Easter, when Hompesch did not fail to attend.

The parish archives of Tarxien mention that the parish priest Don Giovanni Psaila paid one scudo, seven tari, for a caleche that took him to Valletta to invite the grand master to the village festa: the Annunciation. A bouquet of flowers presented to the grand master cost seven scudi six tari.

In June 1777, Grand Master Emanuel Rohan Polduc, responding favourably to a petition by parish priest Dun Felix Borg, granted Żebbuġ a city status: Città Rohan, after the grand master’s name.

In recognition of this bestowal, the Żebbuġin originally intended to erect a two-door arch to mark the occasion. However, only one arch was constructed; this was as late as 1798. It was built in Roman Doric architecture. From antiquity, it was customary to build triumphal arches dedicated to emperors, kings and generals to commemorate landmark events. This custom was introduced in Malta in the 18th century.

On May 12, 1798, Hompesch was accompanied by the sacred council and the jurats (aldermen) of the senate of Notabile (Mdina) as he proceeded to the village of Żebbuġ, where the feast of St Philip of Agira was being held. He assisted at high mass, and also took part in the procession in honour of St Philip, which was led by the cathedral chapter.

The last part of that day’s programme was the inauguration of Rohan Gate. Hompesch was the immediate successor to Rohan. This was practically the last public function of Hompesch before the invasion of Malta by Napoleon’s troops.

One would think that Hompesch’s special attraction to the Maltese festa had its roots from his young days, namely a folk festival, known as Hompescher treff, which used to be held in the village where he was born. It started off with mass, followed by folk music and dancing.

Against the background of the uncertain situation in Malta, Hompesch was generally described as sultan tat-tiben (a man of straw, weak). The majority of the knights were French. They were not prepared to fight against their fellow countrymen, which they considered would have made them traitors.

A section of the Maltese were attracted by the Enlightenment movement at the time in Europe. There were internal intrigues that weakened any form of resistance.

Hompesch strove to bring the Maltese on his side. He was reluctant to fight against a Christian country. The grand master did not want to shed blood in vain. He made a human and wise decision.

Hompesch, together with a few knights who were very close to him, left Malta on June 17, 1798. Eyewitnesses say they saw the grand master shedding tears.

He went to Trieste, then in the Austrian territory, and thence made a stop at Fermo, Italy, where he met Malta’s then-only cardinal, Mgr Fabrizio Sceberras Testaferrata. He settled in Montpellier, France.

Comforted by the rites of the Church, on May 12, 1805, succumbed to an attack of asthma – some historians say he died of tuberculosis. He was interred in the church of the Order Sainte Eulalie in Montpellier.

On May 5, 2005, the feast of the Ascension, Grand Master Andrew Bertie (1988-2008) and the presidents of the French Association and German National Association of the Order Prince la Rochefoucauld Montbel and Leo Ferdinand, Count Henckel von Donnersmarck respectively, attended a high mass celebrated by the Archbishop of Montpellier, Guy Thomazeau, in the said Church of Sainte Eulalie to mark the second centenary of Hompesch’s death.

They also unveiled a memorial tablet on the tomb of Malta’s last grand master, stating: “A la memoire de/son altesse eminentissime/fra Ferdinand Hermann Anton von Hompesch zu Bolheim/Prince et 71eme Grand Maitre/de l’Ordne de Saint Jean de Jerusalem, de Rhodes et de Malte/ne le 9 novembre 1744 a Bolheim-Mort le 12 Mai 1805 a Montpellier/Inhume en celle eglise/ requiescat in pace.”